New Jersey is one of the two states in the United States where divorced parents can be required to contribute to the college expenses of their children.

It’s a difficult situation because some parents think their kids should work through college and some parents don’t. And so not only do the courts have to deal with the straight economic issues but also differences in parenting philosophies. And so there’s case law that tells the judges what factors they should consider.

Among those factors are obviously the income of the parents, but we also look at what was the parents’ education, whether there is money set aside for the children, whether the school that the child wants to go to is best suited to his or her needs. Both parents should have a role in the selection of the school.

When I prepare an agreement dealing with college I’m also aware of the fact that there are lots of other expenses involved with going to college that people don’t think about. There is SAT expenses, PSATs, courses for -- for college entrance exams, costs to visit colleges, computers. All of those things have to be included and considered when you try to make an agreement as to how the costs of college are going to be shared.

The other thing is what about money put away for the children? Any money put away for the children by either parent is generally taken off the top before either party has an obligation to pay. So if you save money so that your son or daughter can go to college you have to know that it is going to benefit the other parent by reducing that parent’s obligation.