EXPERT CONTRIBUTOR
WHEN IS THE APPROPRIATE TIME TO NEGOTIATE COLLEGE CONTRIBUTIONS? Contributed by Phyllis S. Klein, Donahue Hagan Klein & Weisberg, LLC
W
hen is the appropriate time to discuss college contributions with your former spouse? New Jersey Courts are guided by the case of Newburgh v. Arrigo, 88 N.J. 529 (1982). In Newburgh v. Arrigo, the Supreme Court of New Jersey established factors the Court must consider when determining college contributions after divorce. Four of those factors are (a) the amount of the contribution sought by the child for the cost of higher education; (b) the ability of the parent to pay that cost; (c) the financial resources of both parents; and (d) the availability of financial aid in the form of college grants and loans. Realistically, parents should begin the process of negotiating college contribution when their child begins to consider potential schools to which he or she wants to apply, typically the beginning of junior year of high school. However, it would likely be premature to file an application with court at that time because you would not yet know which school the child will be attending or what the child’s financial aid package would be. Now, you might not think that financial aid pertains to you because you earn above a level that would typically be considered for “need” based aid. However, just because a child does not qualify for “need”, that does not necessarily mean a child would not qualify for “merit” based aid. As each student’s relationship to a particular college is unique, the amounts and types of aid offered from college to college can vary. For example, if your child had a 3.5 GPA and applies to a school where that college typically receives applicants having a similar GPA, that college may not provide merit-based aid because they have a similar pool of applicants from which to choose. Conversely, if your child applies to a college that does not typically receive applicants of your child’s stature, that college might be more inclined to provide merit-based aid because they do not have a similar pool of applicants from which to choose.As a result, you are not likely to know how much a school will cost until after he or she receives their financial aid package, which is typically at or after acceptance to college in the spring of junior year. Thus, any final settlement negotiating or application to the Court prior to acceptance and receipt of the financial aid package would be premature. Of course, this is only from a legal analysis perspective. From a practical perspective, if you are able to save together or separately early on, that is always wise. Here at Donahue, Hagan, Klein, and Weisberg, LLC, we continuously work with consultants to assist us in assisting you in determining what you are likely to expect in terms of your expected family contribution so that you can become educated when the time comes for your child to begin the process of selecting college. 12 | Chatham Living
