Daddy, Will You Buy Me a College Education--Children of Divorce and the Constitutional Implications of Noncustodial Parents Providing for Higher Education

It is not surprising that in an age when obtaining a college education has become increasingly popular and necessary, litigation involving the responsibility of parents to pay for or contribute to the costs of their child’s college education has also increased. This Note discusses the controversial issues of whether a parent has such an obligation and whether this obligation extends to noncustodial divorced parents. The results of much of the litigation throughout the United States on this topic vary greatly depending on the facts and circumstances of each case. In order to fully comprehend the current litigation involving noncustodial divorced parents’ obligation to support their children’s college education, it is imperative to study the origin of this controversy within our legal system. This Note analyzes the constitutionality of a statutory obligation imposed on noncustodial parents requiring them to contribute toward their child’s college education