JERALD K. CARLTON, APPELLANT,
v.
DONNA B. CARLTON, N/K/A DONNA B. SHIPPEY, AND PENNY CARLTON, APPELLEES
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A former husband appeals an order requiring him to pay one-half of his daughter's college tuition at Furman University. The court reverses, holding that the trial court must consider the father's ability to pay when determining whether the tuition amount is reasonable, even though the parties' divorce settlement obligated him to share equally in all educational expenses.
The court holds that ability to pay is an implied component of reasonableness in evaluating whether college tuition expenses are reasonable. A tuition amount cannot be deemed reasonable if the parents lack the financial capacity to pay it, even if the amount would be considered modest for others. The case is remanded for the trial court to reconsider the reasonableness determination in light of the father's ability to pay.
[1] A parent's ability to pay is a component of the reasonableness of college tuition expenses.
[2] The reasonableness of college tuition costs must consider the financial resources of the parents.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Reasonableness is more than the comparison of the tuition at a particular institution of higher learning with other such institutions. The reasonableness of a specific tuition amount must take into consideration the financial resources of the parents.”
Establishes that ability to pay is an essential component of determining whether tuition is reasonable, not just comparative analysis of institutional costs.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceJerald and Donna Carlton divorced in 1986 with a settlement agreement requiring them to share equally in all educational expenses, including college. …
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QUINCE, Judge.
Jerald K. Carlton, the former husband, seeks review of the trial court’s order requiring him to pay one-half of the college expenses for his daughter. We reverse and remand for further proceedings because the trial court did not consider Carlton’s ability to pay as a component of reasonableness of the tuition.
Jerald and Donna Carlton were divorced in 1986, and incorporated in the final judgment was a marital settlement agreement. The settlement provided, in pertinent part, that “the parties shall share equally in all educational expenses for the minor child, including normal schooling, preparatory, college, graduate and post graduate.” The parties’ daughter, Penny Carlton, attends Furman University at an annual cost of $18,464.00. The former husband has been a high school teacher for the past four years and earns approximately $22,000.00 annually. He receives a monthly disability check in the amount of $531.00, an additional $6,372.00 per year. His monthly income after taxes is $2,087.65.1 Donna Shippey, the former wife, is a registered nurse with an annual income of approximately $36,000.00 (a net monthly income of $2,522.15).
The real issue presented in this appeal is whether or not the trial court should consider the former husband’s ability to pay when deciding the issue of reasonableness of the college tuition amount. We believe that ability to pay is an implied component of reasonableness, and we, therefore, remand to the trial court for reconsideration in light of this standard.
The trial court found that the daughter’s selection of Furman and the expenses and costs associated with attendance there were reasonable. However, the trial court refused to include the former husband’s ability to pay as a part of its reasonableness determination. Reasonableness is more than the comparison of the tuition at a particular institution of higher learning with other such institutions. The reasonableness of a specific tuition amount must take into consideration the financial resources of the parents. The trial court acknowledged this basic premise when it said, “Obviously, if the daughter had decided to go, let’s say, to Sorbonne in Paris and the cost to you was $100,000.00, I think everybody would agree that that’s unreasonable.” However, a tuition amount need not be outrageous in order to be unreasonable. If parents cannot pay what one may consider a modest tuition, that amount is still unreasonable as to them.
On other domestic relation issues the courts have considered the spouses’ abilities to pay as a part of the reasonableness determination, e.g., in modifying child support, Grady v. Grady, 640 So. 2d 157 (Fla. 2d DCA 1994); in determining alimony, McLean v. McLean, 652 So. 2d 1178 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995); in awarding private education expenses, Todesco v. Todesco, 583 So. 2d 774 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991); and in determining attorney’s fees and costs, Margulies v. Margulies, 645 So. 2d 54 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994). See In re Marriage of Shellenberger, 80 Wash.App. 71, 906 P. 2d 968 (Div. 1 1995), where the appellate court considered ability to pay on a petition to modify college expenses. Our courts should also consider ability to pay under the circumstances of this case where the noncustodial parent has agreed to pay half of the college expenses but has had no real input concerning the choice of school.
We do not mean to suggest by this opinion that the trial court’s final determination in this case should be that the tuition at Fur-man is unreasonable. We hold only that before the decision is made, the trial court must take into consideration the moving party’s ability to pay.
Remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
ALTENBERND, A.C.J., and BLUE, J., concur. . Although the former husband indicates his net monthly income is $1,190.11, that figure includes certain deductions such as losses on rental properly. The figure stated above represents the total monthly income with deductions for federal taxes/FICA and health insurance only. The net monthly figure for the former wife also includes only deductions for federal taxes/FICA and health insurance.
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Riera v. Riera, 86 So. 3d 1163 (Fla. 3d DCA 2012)…permitted under the current zoning of the property” under doctrine) (emphasis added). . Ability to pay has been found to be an implied component of reasonableness when deciding the reasonableness of a college tuition amount. See Carlton v. Carlton, 670 So. 2d 1129, 1130 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996). The length of time the obligation exists also should be subject to a reasonableness standard. See Fox v. Haislett, 388 So. 2d 1261, 1266 (Fla. 2d DCA 1980) ("[A] provision requiring a father to pay tuition, with no limitati…
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Carlton v. Carlton, 816 So. 2d 254 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002)…daughter in private, out-of-state university. In a previous appeal from an order to pay, this court remanded for the trial court to consider the Former Husband’s “ability to pay as a component of reasonableness of the tuition.” Carlton v. Carlton, 670 So. 2d 1129, 1130 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996). After additional proceedings on remand, the trial court ordered the Former Husband to pay $47,264.25 for his equal share of the daughter’s college expenses.1 On appeal, the Former Husband argues that the Former Wife lacked…
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Authorities Cited
- McLEAN v. McLEAN, 652 So. 2d 1178 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995)
- Margulies v. Margulies, 645 So. 2d 54 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994)
- Todesco v. Todesco, 583 So. 2d 774 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991)
- Grady v. Grady, 640 So. 2d 157 (Fla. 2d DCA 1994)