You be the Judge: Support Obligations

If you are trying to enforce support obligations set by another state, this may interest you.

New Jersey has adopted the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA) which permits enforcement of a support order though one (or both) of the parties has moved from the jurisdiction.

The New Jersey Appellate Division recently reviewed UIFSA procedures in a case where the parents divorced in Pennsylvania.  The original child-support order did not require either parent to pay college expenses for a child who had reached the age of majority.

After the divorce, both parents and their children moved to New Jersey.

The mother sought a court order in New Jersey to require the father to pay college expenses for one of the children, though the child had reached majority.

The trial judge ruled for the mother, reasoning that New Jersey law should apply since the parties were residents of this State.  New Jersey authorizes parents to contribute to college expenses under certain circumstances.

The decision was appealed.

YOU BE THE JUDGE: Are support obligations determined by the laws of the state where the divorce was obtained or the state where the child later resides?

The Appellate Division reversed.

The appellate court noted that the UIFSA did not authorize one state to modify any aspect of a child-support order that could not be modified under the law of the issuing state.  In other words, the law of the state that issues the initial child-support order governs the duration of the support obligation.

Since Pennsylvania law does not require payment of college expenses for a child who has reached the age of 18, New Jersey could not change the Pennsylvania child-support law.