Are children of divorce entitled to a college education?  The question in this Pennsylvania case was whether parents of children and families where divorce has occurred should be treated differently from parents in an intact family when it comes to the obligation to send the kids to college.  The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that a father in an intact family can’t be forced to pay for his child’s education, so a father in a divorced family can’t be forced to either.  Shortly after that decision, the Pennsylvania Legislature passed a law specifically declaring that children of divorce have a right to a parent pay for college education since they are more likely to fall through the cracks than children in an intact family.  But the Court ruled that while the Legislature could require parents of all children to send them to college, it cannot single out children of divorced families for extra protection since extra protection is not equal protection.  As for the argument that children of divorce are more disadvantaged, the Court said there’s no real evidence of that.  Many other Courts have come out the other way, but Pennsylvania is holding fast as a holdout.  Let’s just call it a difference of degree.

THIS IS NEIL CHAYET LOOKING AT THE LAW™

Curtis v. Kline, Pennsylvania Common Court of Common Pleas, Chester County, 20 FLR 1232

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