In Jacoby v. Jacoby: The court held that a child’s attendance at college is a change in circumstances warranting a review of the child support obligation.
Jacoby v. Jacoby, 427 N.J. Super. 109 (App. Div. 2012). Before Judges Lihotz, Waugh and St. John. Opinion by Lihotz, J.A.D.
Issue: Should child support be reduced when a child resides on campus while attending college?
Holding: Maybe. The court held that a child’s attendance at college is a change in circumstances warranting review of the child support obligation. However, the court determined that there is no presumption that a child’s financial support lessens because he or she attends college. The Child Support Guidelines are not an appropriate mechanism to determine child support for a child living away from home. Rather, the court must evaluate the factors in N.J.S.A. 2A:34-23a and also consider the close relationship between college costs and support.
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David M. Wildstein is a senior shareholder in the New Jersey law firm Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer P.A., and chair of the firm’s Family Law Team. He has exclusively practiced family law for over 40 years, been a member of several New Jersey Supreme Court Committees that have shaped the rules and procedures for family law in this State, and lectures to lawyers and judges at the New Jersey Institute of Continuing Legal Education.
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