It depends... If you reside in Pennsylvania, there is no legal obligation to pay for college as any support obligation ends when your child turns 18 or graduates high school, whichever is last to occur....more
With summer underway, many recent high school graduates are starting to prepare to commence college in August and September. The average cost of tuition, room and board, and related fees can be costly....more
One of the goals of this blog is to familiarize lawyers and clients going through divorce with the importance of putting economic issues ahead of emotional ones. But this edition addresses a problem that afflicts all American...more
While many attorneys and clients are aware of basic financial issues that must be in almost every divorce agreement – alimony, child support, equitable distribution – there are certain financial components that should not be...more
When parties get divorced and there are children in high school or younger, they often reserve on what their financial contributions towards the children’s post-secondary educational expenses will look like. We often include...more
Providing for the educational needs of your children, grandchildren and even future generations is an honorable estate planning objective. What are your options for achieving this goal? A 529 plan can be a highly effective...more
My daughter turns 17 this week. As you might imagine, college is a frequent topic of conversation at our house. Where should she go to college? Will she be accepted at her top choices? What should she study? And most...more
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and remote instruction, students have recently filed lawsuits against their universities alleging contract and unjust enrichment claims. The students seek refunds of certain tuition fees...more
In a recent decision, the appellate division has addressed the proper procedure for adjudicating a parent’s request to eliminate his obligation to pay child support and for college, when there is a question of whether the...more
In the divorce business, there are few alleys as dark as of the college financial aid. We are commonly asked how separation and divorce may affect eligibility for student aid and loans. The October 21, 2019 Wall Street...more
To the recent high school graduates from the class of 2019, congratulations! For the parents (particularly divorced or divorcing parents) of the recent high school graduates from the class of 2019, I hope you’ve saved some...more
With the costs of college ballooning out of control, determining which of the divorced parents will pay for what percentage of a child or the children’s college has evolved into high stakes litigation that is on par with...more
As summer vacations wind down and thoughts turn back to school activities, people might find themselves reviewing their finances and considering the options for funding their children’s (or grandchildren’s) college...more
On June 22, 2017 the Baker-Polito Administration announced $960,000 in grants for STEM and clean energy learning programs for six Massachusetts high schools to help direct students towards STEM higher education majors and...more
This is the second installment in a series examining five bipartisan bills advanced by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce on June 22, 2016. The original post summarizing all five bills was posted in Education...more
On September 30, 2015, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed, in part, a district court’s ruling that some of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) compensation rules were unlawful restraints on trade in...more
Late last year, Congress passed, and the President signed, the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act. The act authorizes a new, tax-advantaged savings account, modeled after the Section 529 college savings account,...more
In 1993, Pennsylvania passed a law that provided courts the authority to require parents to pay college expenses for their children (23 Pa.C.S. § 4327). In 1995, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, in Curtis v. Kline, held that...more
A 529 plan is one of the most powerful and flexible tools available for college savings, but it also provides some unique estate planning benefits. This article explains how 529 plans work for savings purposes, but also notes...more
In This Issue: - Saving for college is also good for your estate plan - Will your estate plan benefit from a trust protector? - Charitable deductions: Substantiate them or lose them - Estate...more
In a new blog post, the CFPB promotes its online financial aid resources to students who are now in the process of choosing which school to attend this fall. The blog post directs students to a just-launched “crisp new...more
“Aren’t I done paying support once my kid turns 18?!” is common sentiment among many parents who are paying child support. A recent case that has been making waves in the news involves a New Jersey teenager who sued her...more
Faced with the increasing cost of higher education, students and their families must begin saving for college from an early age -- often from birth. 529 College Savings Plans offer families a great opportunity to set aside...more
It’s no secret that the cost of a college education continues to soar. But this article offers three options to help one’s grandchildren deal with this burden while saving gift and estate taxes: direct tuition payments to the...more
Last week Peter Jackson, the Senior Advisor for Communications at the CFPB, put up a post on the CFPB’s blog describing the CFPB’s “Paying for College” web tools, which are currently in a beta stage and which are still...more