Generally speaking, in the state of New Jersey, child support ends at the age of 19. But your child may be exempted from this cutoff if they are still enrolled full-time in a high school, college, or another secondary or post-secondary educational program. This may be explicitly directed in your standing child support agreement. But still, your ex may continually evade what is owed to your child. If this has been going on for far too long, please continue reading to learn whether you can get your ex to pay retroactively for your child’s past college expenses and how an experienced Morristown child support lawyer at Graves Andrews, LLC can help your child receive the money that is rightfully theirs, and that is needed to further their educational goals.
What happens if my ex stops paying for my child’s college expenses?
Before you jump to action, you should look back at the child support agreement that the New Jersey family court arranged with your final divorce judgment. Here, look for any instructions on how you and your ex should split financial responsibilities for add-on expenses to the standard child support amount, like college. If there are specific orders, and your ex has repeatedly violated them, you may report this to the court.
In response, the court may attempt to collect overdue college expenses through wage garnishments and money judgments. Since they are being held in contempt of court, they may face additional monetary fines, as well. In a worst-case scenario, the court discovers that this non-payment of college expenses was willful. If so, they may order your ex to pay for your attorney’s fees and other associated legal fees for being forced to file a violation or enforcement petition.
Can I get my ex to pay retroactively for my child’s college expenses?
To reiterate, college is typically categorized as an add-on expense that may not be included in the standard child support order. Fear not, when the time comes, you may file a post-judgment modification with the New Jersey family court that made the initial agreement. Here, the court may look into your and your ex’s financial resources and other extenuating factors (i.e., your and your ex’s educational background, your child’s educational success thus far, etc.), and possibly tack on language for covering the cost of college.
Once you get this motion granted, you may wonder whether you can file an additional petition to get your ex to pay for your child’s past college expenses retroactively (i.e., tuition and room and board already paid, student loans already incurred, etc). Well, sadly, the court can only order repayment for past expenses if an obligation was previously agreed to in your existing child support agreement. This is why we encourage you to file for a post-judgment modification before your child even begins applying to colleges.
For further legal assistance, please hire a skilled Morristown family law attorney from Graves Andrews, LLC. Schedule your initial consultation with us today, and see just how much we can do for you.