BKW Blog

Few financial conversations hit harder during a divorce than the question of who pays for college. Parents on both sides of that table tend to assume the rules are straightforward. They rarely are. Whether your child is a decade, or only a few years, away from submitting applications to Rutgers, Penn State, or Temple, the gap between what you think the law requires and what it actually says can cost you real money.

What makes this topic especially tricky for families in our region is that New Jersey and Pennsylvania take genuinely different approaches to child support obligations once a child reaches college age. If you live in Burlington County, or Philadelphia County, or anywhere along the I-95 corridor straddling both states, the state where your order was entered matters enormously. Two families in nearly identical situations can end up with very different legal outcomes depending on which side of the Delaware River their case was filed.

Does New Jersey Require Parents to Pay for College?

New Jersey takes a notably active approach when it comes to supporting college bound children. New Jersey law treats higher education as a potential extension of a parent’s duty to provide support.  Therefore, the state does not automatically end child support when a child turns 18 or graduates high school. That alone surprises many parents.

Practically, what does that mean? If a child attends college full-time and remains financially dependent, parents are generally required to continue supporting the child, including helping pay for college costs, such as tuition and living expenses.  The court considers the family’s circumstances, the parents’ financial resources, and the child’s needs before making any decision. And that obligation can stretch further than most people expect. Support of a child in New Jersey can continue until age 23 for children enrolled full-time in school or vocational training.

The standard guidelines that govern child support for younger children, however, do not simply carry over. Child support for college students is handled distinctly from standard child support and courts look to case law when disputes arise about who pays for a child’s college education. Judges weigh a range of factors, including each parent’s financial resources, the child’s academic commitment, the availability of scholarships and financial aid, the type of school being considered, and whether the child is going away to school. The relationship between the requested contribution and the kind of school or course of study, the child’s commitment and aptitude, and the availability of financial aid are all part of the court’s analysis.

To clarify that last point: a parent’s obligation is not unlimited. New Jersey courts have long recognized that contributions toward a private university may be capped at what a comparable in-state public university would cost, depending on the financial circumstances of the parties involved. The takeaway is that New Jersey courts have real authority to order college contributions, and they use it.

How Does Pennsylvania Handle College Costs Differently?

Pennsylvania draws a much sharper line. Under Pennsylvania law, a parent’s legal duty to pay child support typically ends when a child turns 18 or graduates from high school, whichever comes later.  Once that point is reached, support payments generally stop unless the child has a disability that prevents self-support.

Pennsylvania law does not require parents to contribute to a child’s college tuition after emancipation unless both parents have signed a written agreement that spells out this commitment. That is a significant distinction from New Jersey. A parent in Montgomery County or Bucks County who never signed any document addressing college costs may have no legal obligation to contribute at all.

Parents who assume college tuition is automatically part of child support in Pennsylvania are often surprised when the legal process draws a strict line between the two. We see this come up frequently when one parent believes a verbal understanding from years ago obligates the other parent.  It generally does not.

That said, Pennsylvania is not entirely closed off. Parents can agree, for example in a divorce settlement, to share the cost of college.  If such an agreement is made and approved by the court, it is legally binding and enforceable. If there are exceptional circumstances, for example a child has a disability, a judge may also order parents who already have a child support obligation to pay for educational expenses after high school.  So the door is not completely closed, but getting through it requires either a prior agreement or a specific court order tied to an existing support case.

What Factors Do Courts Actually Look At?

The New Jersey courts consider a variety factors which go beyond just looking at bank statements. The analysis in New Jersey considers things like the child’s relationship with each parent, whether the child has made a genuine academic commitment, the type of institution involved, and whether financial aid has been pursued. A parent may be obligated to pay child support and not compelled to contribute to college, be called upon to contribute to college and not pay child support, or be required to do both. There is no one-size-fits-all formula once college enters the picture.

In Pennsylvania, when a prior agreement does exist, the agreement will control.  The more specificity in the agreement, the better, including percentage of responsibility and what is included,  For example, are parents shared the cost of  room, board, tuition, books, travel to and from home, a laptop, and pizza money?  Parents sometimes also negotiate caps tied to in-state tuition benchmarks, such as the cost of attending Penn State or a comparable state school, to limit open-ended exposure.

Why This Matters Before Your Child Applies to Schools

Timing is CRITICAL here. Waiting until your child is already enrolled to raise the college contribution question puts you in a much weaker position, regardless of which state governs your order. In New Jersey, the other parent can bring a motion well in advance of enrollment. In Pennsylvania, if no agreement exists and your child is already attending, your legal options narrow considerably.

Families in our region often have added complexity. A parent may have relocated from Philadelphia to Cherry Hill, or from Doylestown to Trenton, and the state where the original order was entered may not be where either parent currently lives. Which state’s law applies to a modification request? That question alone can require careful legal analysis before anyone files a motion.

Dealing with college costs and child support requires preparation, communication, and attention to detail, starting with gathering documentation related to college expenses, past support orders, and any relevant changes in income or family structure, and working with the other parent toward a clear and fair agreement where possible. We encourage families to have this conversation with an attorney well before senior year of high school, not the summer before freshman orientation. The earlier you understand your rights and obligations, the more options you have. Reach out to our team at BKW Family Law to talk through where your situation stands.