Black v. Black, Trial Court Decision, Approved for Publication June 13, 2014: The trial court considered whether a parent, who had previously agreed to contribute towards the costs of college education of his child, could be relieved of that obligation and considered the difference between state and private costs and the eventual obligations for younger children in assessing the ultimate responsibility for payment of college expenses. The trial court made the following holdings:
Case Law Review for the Weeks of May 26, 2014 and June 2, 2014
Palestrini v. Palestrini, Appellate Division, May 29, 2014 (Unreported Decision): In this case, the Appellate Court reviewed the trial court's post-judgment Order setting a revised alimony amount consistent with a specific provision of the parties' settlement agreement which was triggered when the Plaintiff had obtained employment after being unemployed at the time of the parties' divorce. The issue on appeal was the Plaintiff's claim that the Defendant should be imputed income. The Appellate Division affirmed the trial court's decision not to impute income to the Defendant based upon the fact that (a) Plaintiff failed to provide specific evidence to show that the Defendant was underemployed, especially when compared to the employment history of the Defendant during the marriage and at the time of the divorce and (b) the Defendant's claim that she was unable to pursue full time employment due to a need to care for her adult child was good cause for not imputing income.
