Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Pennsylvania
Contract Law Question
My ex-husband and I orally agreed to pay for our son's college education expenses. We do not have this written in our divorce agreement. I wanted to split the expenses 50/50 each year but he said his money was tied up until my son's junior year so I had to pay for the first two years and he would pay for the last two. I had most of the money saved and with stafford loans, I was able to keep my end of the bargain. My ex had a fight with my son and wrote him a nasty email saying he isn't paying for the last two years of school. I called my ex and said it was an agreement we had and he can't back out. He said "sue me". He is an attorney. I am freaking out because I spent all of my money that was saved and now in the 11th hour, my son and i have figure out the college expenses ($50K). Can I sue my ex for breaking an oral agreement?
2 Answers from Attorneys
You should begin by contacting the lawyer who represented you in your divorce. The facts you describe would ordinarily support a breach-of-contract lawsuit, though you might find it hard to prove your case. But because this is an agreement between divorced spouses about their child's education, it might have to be resolved as part of the divorce.
Your divorce lawyer might tell you that you need to file a new lawsuit. If so, you should follow his advice. But calling him is the most sensible way to start.
Good luck.
I agree with the previous post. If this can't be handled through the divorce, which if it wasn't made part of a maritial settlement agreement, it will likely be hard to do, you may have a breach of contract action. Contracts do not have to be written. Oral contracts can be enforced, however, being able to prove that a contract actually existed may not be easy to do.
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