Gac v. Gac

• Decision Date: 18 May 2006
• Citation: 186 N.J. 535,897 A.2d 1018
• Parties: Gaynell GAC, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Paul GAC, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: New Jersey Supreme Court

897 A.2d 1018

186 N.J. 535

Gaynell GAC, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Paul GAC, Defendant-Appellant.

Supreme Court of New Jersey.

Argued January 30, 2006.

Decided May 18, 2006.

William J. Courtney, Morristown, argued the cause for appellant.

Gerard C. Fallon, Hackensack, argued the cause for respondent (Sonageri & Fallon, attorneys).

Charles A. Matison, President, submitted a brief on behalf of amicus curiae New Jersey Chapter of American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (Mr. Matison, attorney; Mr. Matison and Dale E. Console, on the brief).

Stuart A. Hoberman, Woodbridge, President, submitted a letter brief on behalf of amicus curiae New Jersey State Bar Association.

Justice WALLACE, JR. delivered the opinion of the Court.

This case raises the issue whether a father must pay the college debt owed by his estranged daughter. In Newburgh v. Arrigo, 88 N.J. 529, 545, 443 A.2d 1031 (1982), this Court established a twelve-factor balancing test to aid in determining whether a court should require a parent to contribute to the cost of a child's post-secondary education. In the present case, the trial court balanced those factors and ordered a father to contribute to his estranged daughter's college loans. The Appellate Division concluded that the lateness of the application seeking contribution from the non-custodial parent and the lack of any adjustment in his child support payments while the child was in college required a downward adjustment in the amount he should pay. We reverse and hold that under the unusual circumstances presented, a fair balancing of the Newburgh factors demonstrates that the non-custodial parent should not have to contribute to the child's college loans.

I.

The facts of the case are detailed in the decision of the Appellate Division in the first appeal. Gac v. Gac, 351 N.J.Super. 54, 796 A.2d 951 (2002). We recite only the procedural history and those facts that are necessary to decide this matter.

Defendant Paul Gac and plaintiff Gaynell Gac were divorced in 1987. During the divorce proceedings, the trial court ordered Dr. Mathias Hagovsky to perform a psychological evaluation of the family. At that time, the two children of the marriage, Justin and Alyssa, were twelve and nine, respectively. Based on Dr. Hagovsky's recommendation, the trial court did not order visitation between defendant and the children.

Thereafter, defendant followed Dr. Hagovsky's recommendation to establish a "one way" relationship with the children via occasional letters, gifts, and telephone calls until the children were ready to initiate a relationship with him. He made numerous attempts to communicate with his children by means of packages, cards, and letters, but the children did not respond. In 1994, defendant received a packet in the mail containing many of the cards, letters, and checks he had sent to his children. Included in the packet was a letter from then sixteen-year-old Alyssa stating, "We don't want to hear from you. We don't want anything to do with you."

That same year, defendant moved for a temporary reduction in child support because he was unemployed. He also sought family mediation and asked the court to compel plaintiff to comply with the divorce decree and send him updates regarding the children's health, schooling, and social developments. The trial court granted defendant's request for bimonthly reports of the children but denied, without prejudice, his application for family mediation. The court reserved decision on defendant's motion to temporarily reduce child support, and defendant subsequently obtained employment.

In 1989, defendant remarried and became the stepfather of two children, and in 1994 he and his new wife had a child of their own. Afterwards, defendant enrolled in school to train to be a paramedic and accepted a job in Philadelphia. Based on that career move, he purchased a car for his commute from his home in Barnegat to Philadelphia, and also purchased a second home in Philadelphia to establish residency for his work as a paramedic.

Eventually, Alyssa sought to attend college. During the college selection process, she never consulted or otherwise communicated with her father before choosing Quinnipiac College, a relatively expensive private school. Alyssa indicated on the financial aid applications she submitted between 1996 and 1999 that her father was not a part of her life, he was not assisting her in financing her college education, and his whereabouts were unknown. In short, neither plaintiff nor Alyssa asked defendant for help in financing Alyssa's college education.

Throughout that time period, defendant continued to make his child support payments. In 1996, Justin approached his father and the two began to reestablish a relationship. At some point, Justin informed defendant that Alyssa was attending Quinnipiac.

Alyssa graduated from Quinnipiac in May 2000. On July 11, 2000, defendant filed a motion to terminate child support for Justin and Alyssa. Plaintiff opposed the motion and cross-moved for continuation of child support payments for Alyssa and reimbursement of the cost of Alyssa's college tuition. The motion court terminated child support but ordered defendant to pay up to one-half of Alyssa's outstanding obligations for college loans. The order required plaintiff to provide proof of the amount of Alyssa's loans, excluding loans from family members, and was stayed pending discovery. Following discovery and a hearing, the trial court lifted the stay and ordered defendant to reimburse Alyssa $35,000.

Defendant appealed. The Appellate Division reversed and remanded for the trial court to consider all of the Newburgh factors. Id. at 65, 796 A.2d 951. In its remand, the Appellate Division instructed the trial court to consider that

(1) defendant was excluded from participating in decisions pertaining to Alyssa's college education, (2) plaintiff and Alyssa chose a relatively expensive private college rather than available New Jersey or Vermont institutions, (3) Alyssa apparently did not seek summer employment during several of the years she attended college, (4) there may have been additional grants available that would have defrayed a portion of Alyssa's college expenses, and (5) plaintiff did not seek reimbursement of Alyssa's student loans during the years these obligations were incurred, thus possibly impairing defendant's ability to make sound financial judgments.

[Id. at 63-64, 796 A.2d 951.]

The panel also noted the relevance of Moss v. Nedas, 289 N.J.Super. 352, 674 A.2d 174 (App.Div.1996), in which the court "found it inappropriate to compel the father to contribute to his daughter's college expenses" when there was no "meaningful father-daughter relationship." Gac, supra, 351 N.J.Super. at 64-65, 796 A.2d 951 (quotations omitted).

At the remand hearing held on February 10, 2003, Alyssa and defendant both testified. In a subsequent letter opinion, the trial court summarized the testimony, made findings of fact, and concluded that "[e]ven though Mr. Gac might not have paid much for Alyssa's education had the marriage lasted, . . . he has some responsibility for her higher undergraduate education." The trial court ordered defendant to pay 40% of Alyssa's loans plus interest on that debt that had accumulated from the outset, adding that "Alyssa chose [to attend] a more expensive school" than necessary, without any consultation with her father.

Defendant again sought relief in the Appellate Division. In an unpublished opinion, the Appellate Division expressed the difficulty in properly balancing the Newburgh factors in this case because there were equitable considerations supporting each side. The panel accepted the trial court's finding that Alyssa still feared her father and agreed that was relevant to the trial court's weighing of the Newburgh factors. The panel balanced the finding that Alyssa should not be penalized for her estrangement from her father against the findings that defendant was not consulted when Alyssa incurred college expenses, a less expensive college was not considered, and defendant paid $225 a month in child support throughout Alyssa's four years in college. The court found it significant that plaintiff's cross-motion was not made until after Alyssa completed college and after defendant moved to terminate his child support obligation, but concluded that defendant must contribute to his daughter's college loans. The panel disagreed, however, with the amount of the trial court's award, found it prudent to terminate the litigation, and ordered defendant to reimburse Alyssa $20,000, inclusive of interest.

We granted defendant's petition for certification. 185 N.J. 35, 878 A.2d 852 (2005). We subsequently granted amici curiae status to the New Jersey State Bar Association (Association) and the New Jersey Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (Academy).

II.

Defendant argues that a parent who would not have contributed to his child's college education if the family had remained together should not have to contribute to that child's college education after a divorce. Essentially, defendant asserts that the first Newburgh factor, which addresses that issue, is a threshold question. Defendant also argues, for the first time in his petition for certification, that it is a violation of the United States and New Jersey Constitutions to compel divorced parents, but not married parents, to pay for their children's college educations. In contrast, plaintiff argues that the lack of a relationship between defendant and his daughter and the court's finding that he would not have paid for college expenses if the family remained intact are only two factors among many to be weighed under Newburgh. Plaintiff also contends that this Court should not consider the constitutional argument because defendant failed to raise it in the prior proceedings, but if the Court addresses the argument, there is no constitutional...