Divorce Lawyers New York - Recent Family Law Decisons (21)
RECENT FAMILY LAW DECISIONS (21)
Death of Parent
Where the settlement agreement established the father’s obligation to pay for the children’s college expenses even where they attained their majority, subject only to his financial ability to pay and the children’s aptitude for higher education, the fact that he did before his ability to pay was adjudicated did not mitigate that responsibility.
Under subsection (d) of this section and section 513 of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (750 ILCS 5/513), the circuit court may not enter an order against the estate of a non0custodial deceased parent for the payment of college expenses of a non-minor child when no such previous obligation was imposed upon the parent to be charged prior to his death.
Emancipation
A parent’s obligation to pay for the educational expenses of a child terminated upon the marriage of that child, an emancipating event.
Modification in Error
Trial court abused its discretion in modifying respondent’s obligation to provide that respondent did not have any obligation to pay for the college expenses of his son, which obligation was conditioned on his son being college material and on respondent’s financial ability to provide for the expenses, because in order to make an intelligent and useful decision, there would have to be facts to indicate whether respondent’s son was college material, what his expenses would be, and respondent’s financial ability at that time to petition, none of these things could be ascertained.
Termination
Where a divorce decree did not provide support for the educational expenses of the parties’ non-minor children and stated that the question of educational expenses was to be reserved and the support awarded in the decree was support for the three minor children, this type of support terminated when the children were emancipated and the divorce decree did not obligate the father to continue paying child support after the youngest child attained majority.
Employment
Reasonable Diligence
The trial court properly determined respondent had used reasonable diligence in seeking employment where, since the last hearing, she had been substitute teaching and had gained certification and had taken the only full-time position offered.
Equitable Estoppel
Applicability
Even in the absence of an enforceable agreement, there was no reason why the doctrine of equitable estoppel could not be applied as to all or part of past installments in an appropriate case.
