Law Lessons from PAMELA A. SCHVEY V. ROBERT M. SCHVEY, App. Div., A-1781-07T2, September 21, 2009:
When a child is attending college and living on campus, contributions to college expenses and continued support for that child are “discrete yet related obligations,” the extent of which “depends on the facts of each case.” Hudson v. Hudson, 315 N.J. Super. 577, 584-85 (App. Div. 1998); see Beck v. Beck, 239 N.J. Super. 183, 190 (App. Div. 1990) (discussing tuition and reduction in child support included in unallocated alimony); cf. R. 5:7-4 (requiring a showing of “good cause” for award of unallocated support).
College expenses and child support due the parent of primary residence are not governed by the child support guidelines when the child attends college away from home. Child Support Guidelines, Pressler, Current N.J. Court Rules, Appendix IX-A to R. 5:6A, ΒΆ 18 at 2401 (2010). The decision to allocate responsibility for college expenses and support is left to the discretion of the trial court, which is to be applied after considering the relevant facts, including any agreement about college, and applying the relevant statutory factors and case law. See N.J.S.A. 2A:34-23(a); Newburgh v. Arrigo, 88 N.J. 529, 545 (1982); Hudson, supra, 315 N.J. Super. at 582, 584-85.
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