Legal Question in Family Law in New York
College Support over 21
My wife's son will turn 21 next week. She has been paying child support as a non-custodial parent since he decided to live at his father's residence at age 16 (had been a split joint custody). In the seperation agreement back in 1985 it stated that the father would be responsible for all college expenses. It also stated that in a seperate article that emancipation would not occur till the completion of 4 years of college. These articles were included to require the father to pay college expenses for the full 4 years.
The father (whose income is triple what the mother's is)has now petitioned the court to require my wife to continue her support payments as college expenses till her son is age 22. She would willingly pay half but does not want to be required to pay the father under a court order.
Can the court order her to continue support payments?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: College Support over 21
This is entirely dependent upon the court's
interpretation of the emancipation language
If this is decided to alter and extend the
normal statutory termination, then the
court may order both child support and
a contribution to the college expenses
But it is worth fighting
Re: College Support over 21
Without reading the actual language of the separation agreement, I cannot give you a definitive answer.
The court could order her to continue support payments. However, her attorney should argue that the father made the deal and should not now be allowed to reneg on it.
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