Pharoah v. Lapes

571 A.2d 1070, 391 Pa. Super. 585, 1990 Pa. Super. LEXIS 398

• Court: Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
• Decided: March 1, 1990
• Docket: 613 and 614
• Status: Published

Opinions

BECK, Judge:

Nancy Pharoah (formerly Nancy Lapes and hereinafter “mother”), filed a petition seeking contribution from George Lapes, the father, for the college education and support of their son Anthony. Since 1981 father has been paying child support for Anthony and a younger child Andrea pursuant to a marital settlement agreement. The agreement contemplated college education for both children.¹ Rather than fixing a specified contribution or constructing a formula by which to do so, the agreement acknowledged each party’s commitment to the post-secondary education of the children and provided that each party would contribute to that education commensurate with his or her then ability to pay. The agreement also provided that if the parties disagreed about the contribution of each parent, either one of them could seek a judicial resolution of the dispute. Such a dispute arose and mother brought the instant support action. The father appeals the order of the support court.

A brief description of the family background is helpful to an understanding of the issues in the case. Appellant and appellee were divorced in 1981 after a sixteen year marriage. Both parties have remarried. The father lives in York, Pennsylvania with his wife and their young son. He is a psychiatrist earning approximately $200,000 a year. The mother lives in Georgia with Anthony and Andrea and her husband. The mother is a former nurse who left her career in favor of full-time parenting. The children maintain a cordial relationship with their natural father and paternal grandparents through correspondence, telephone conversations and visits.²

The focus of this dispute is Anthony’s education. He was an outstanding student in high school. He was valedictorian and graduated number one in his class. He received numerous academic and athletic awards both nationally and at home.³ He excelled in math, history and languages. His athletic achievements included football, basketball and track. As a result of his remarkable record, Anthony was in the enviable position of having to choose between two universities, Georgia Institute of Technology and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (hereinafter Georgia Tech and M.I.T.). Although Georgia Tech offered him a full tuition scholarship, he chose to attend M.I.T. He had formed an ambition to attend M.I.T. early in his high school career.⁴ Anthony explained that he consulted with his parents during the course of high school about his college plans. Since no one raised any objection to his applying to M.I.T., he concluded that cost would not be a “major factor” in deciding whether or not to attend. In addition to being an outstanding institution of higher education, M.I.T. also offered Anthony an opportunity to live in an entirely different geographical area.

The trial judge held a three day hearing at which she heard extensive testimony from Anthony, his father and his mother. During the course of lengthy direct and cross examination Anthony testified to his educational accomplishments and aspirations and the reasons behind his decision to attend M.I.T. He gave a detailed accounting and explanation of his living expenses. Further, he described his relationship with his father. The father and mother were also subject to protracted examination on their financial circumstances. Finally, the mother testified in depth about the expenditures she made in raising her children. Based on the testimony at trial as well as on substantial documentary evidence, the trial court fashioned an order requiring appellant to contribute $1715.00 per month towards Anthony’s college support ($20,580.00 per year). The court arrived at this figure after taking into account the numerous merit scholarships Anthony had been awarded and also assessing Anthony’s own ability to earn some money to defray his expenses.

On appeal appellant asserts that: 1) the trial court abused its discretion by obligating appellant to pay the additional costs of tuition at M.I.T. because Georgia Tech had offered Anthony a tuition-free education; 2) the trial court abused its discretion in calculating Anthony’s reasonable living expenses; and 3) the trial court abused its discretion by underestimating the available income of the mother in determining her share of the college support obligation. For the reasons which follow, we affirm.

It is well established that the scope of appellate review in child support cases is very narrow. The appellate court will disturb a trial court’s findings only when the judge has clearly abused his or her discretion. “[A] finding of such abuse is not lightly made and must rest upon a showing of clear and convincing evidence.” Shindel v. Leedom, 350 Pa.Super. 274, 279, 504 A.2d 353, 355-56 (1986) (citations omitted). What constitutes an abuse of discretion is also well settled. It is not “ ‘merely an error of judgment, but if in reaching a conclusion the law is overridden or misapplied, or the judgment exercised is manifestly unreasonable, or the result of partiality, prejudice, bias or ill-will, as shown by the evidence or the record, discretion is abused.’ ” Fee v. Fee, 344 Pa.Super. 276, 496 A.2d 793, 794 (1985) (citation omitted). The scope of review in such cases is not altered by the fact that the order is for college support as opposed to support for a minor child. See Bedford v. Bedford, 386 Pa.Super. 349, 563 A.2d 102, 104 (1989); Leonard v. Leonard, 353 Pa.Super. 604, 608, 510 A.2d 827, 829 (1986); Commonwealth ex rel. Larsen v. Larsen, 211 Pa.Super 30, 234 A.2d 18 (1967). Judged by this stringent standard, we find no abuse of discretion.

The obligation of a parent with adequate financial resources to furnish support for a child’s college education is well settled in Pennsylvania. See, e.g., Miller v. Miller, 353 Pa.Super. 194, 509 A.2d 402 (1986); Sutliff v. Sutliff, 339 Pa.Super. 523, 489 A.2d 764 (1985). A court will impose this obligation on a parent only if the burden of college support will not cause undue hardship. Leonard v. Leonard, supra; Bedford v. Bedford, supra. Furthermore, if it can be shown that “a parent can meet the support needs of a college-age child with ease, a court is free to impose a complete obligation.” Miller v. Miller, supra, 509 A.2d at 404. In this regard we note that appellant does not argue that he lacks the financial ability to contribute the ordered amount towards Anthony’s college education, nor could he reasonably do so. The trial court found that appellant’s annual gross earned income for 1986 and 1987 was $202,-358.00 and $190,756.00 respectively and that his reasonable living expenses were approximately $5000.00 per month.⁵ Appellant does not dispute the accuracy of these findings nor does he argue that payment of the court ordered college expenses will work any hardship on him, much less “undue hardship”. Rather the gravamen of appellant’s argument is that it was “unreasonable” for the court to order him to contribute toward’s Anthony’s M.I.T. education when Anthony could have received an education elsewhere for less money. Under the circumstances of this case, we find appellant’s argument lacks merit.

It is the father’s contention that his responsibility is limited to an education that is “proper”, “reasonable” or “adequate”. Therefore, he argues that since an education at Georgia Tech would have been “adequate”, he should not have to pay the added expense of sending Anthony to M.I.T. What appellant overlooks in his reasoning is that here, as in any support matter, what is “reasonable” depends upon an assessment of all the circumstances in the case including the intellectual and scholastic achievements and aspirations of the child, the financial resources of the parents, the parties’ station in life and customary standard of living and the child’s relationship with the parent from whom he seeks support. Moreover, and most importantly, the assessment of what constitutes reasonable support in a given case is left to the sound discretion of the trial court.

The principle that the fashioning of an equitable college support order is a matter best handled by the trial court was emphasized in Commonwealth ex rel. Larsen v. Larsen, supra, a case upon which appellant mistakenly relies. At issue in Larsen was “the extent to which a father is obliged ... to support a child attending an expensive private college when an adequate but less expensive education is available elsewhere.” 234 A.2d at 20. The court in Larsen refused to establish an inflexible rule but instead recognized that “[t]he determination of whether such an additional burden should be imposed on the father is a matter for the trial court”. Id. (emphasis added) Further, this court noted:

[T]he court must first ascertain what advantages are offered by the more expensive college in relation to the child’s individual needs, aptitude, ability, and the child’s anticipated vocation. It must then weigh these advantages against the increased hardship that would be imposed on the father to determine whether the additional expense is reasonable under the circumstances. We realize that a judge who sees and hears the witnesses in a case such as this is in a better position than this Court. to decide this problem and our function on appeal, therefore, is merely to determine whether the lower court is chargeable with an abuse of discretion.

Id. at 21. (emphasis added).

In Larsen, the father from whom increased college support payments were sought was a medical doctor who had almost reached retirement age, had a modest income, a fraction of appellant's in the instant case and, therefore, there was a risk that the increased payments might jeopardize his financial security. As has already been noted, the same cannot be said for the appellant in this case whose financial assets are undisputedly substantial.⁶ More importantly, the child in Larsen was an average student and the more expensive college he sought to attend was on a par with the state-run university. In contrast, in the instant case, the record amply supports the trial court’s conclusion that Anthony “deserved” the best education possible based upon his considerable academic accomplishments.⁷ The record further establishes that Anthony’s decision to attend M.I.T. was based on the reasonable conclusion that it would represent a superior educational experience. This conclusion was reached by assessing the school’s selectivity, its ratings in college handbooks, its course offerings in Anthony’s chosen field of computer science and its national, indeed international reputation. Under these circumstances, we agree with the trial court which balanced all of these factors along with the father’s financial resources and found that the father was required to contribute to his son’s M.I.T. education.⁸

Appellant’s next contention is that the trial court abused its discretion by miscalculating the reasonable living expenses incurred by Anthony at M.I.T. This argument is without merit. The trial court heard ample and detailed testimony from both Anthony and his mother about the amount of money it was necessary for Anthony to spend during his first two years at M.I.T. The record supports the fact that the trial judge tailored the amount of support to Anthony’s realistic needs.

As a separate claim of error, appellant contends that the trial court abused its discretion in determining the reasonable annual transportation expenses for Anthony. The record reveals that Anthony kept a 1973 Volkswagon Rabbit at M.I.T. for his use during the school year. Anthony testified that this vehicle belongs to his stepfather and was given to him for his use at school. He also explained that the car “won’t make it” on a trip between Boston and Georgia and therefore he leaves it at school to use for short trips and to run errands. Anthony further testified that when he is in Georgia he uses another family car, which other family members also use. Anthony’s mother explained that the insurance expense for Anthony covers him on any family car he drives. Therefore, the insurance expense is the same whether Anthony has use of one or two cars. She further explained that the gasoline expenditures she listed as a child-rearing expense are incurred by Anthony alone during his school breaks and during summer vacations when he is home working his summer job. Appellant suggests that to allow for the insurance, maintenance, gas and other expenses for these two vehicles was error by the trial court. We disagree.

The reasonable use to which Anthony put these two vehicles was thoroughly explored in the record and the availability of two cars under these circumstances is not inappropriate for a college-age student whose school is a thousand miles from home. Similarly, the record supports the trial court’s finding that it was proper to include air transportation between Boston and Georgia at the start and end of the school year and for vacations as a reasonable and necessary living expense. Appellant suggests that it would be more reasonable to expect Anthony to drive to and from Georgia and Massachusetts despite unrefuted testimony from both Anthony and his mother that safety considerations dictate against it. We conclude appellant’s allegation of abuse of discretion by the trial court is meritless.

Finally, appellant argues that the trial court failed to calculate correctly the mother’s contribution towards Anthony’s college education. However, the record does not support this claim. The trial court attributed $20,000.00 of annual earning capacity to the mother although, as a homemaker and full-time parent, she had no actual income. Furthermore, the trial court allocated this entire amount as available to meet Anthony’s needs, because the trial court reasoned that the mother’s second husband supported her completely.⁹ All parties were subject to rigorous scrutiny through direct and cross examination regarding their incomes and expenditures. The trial court fairly assessed both the mother’s and father’s financial status in determining their respective contributions to Anthony’s college education. We find no abuse of discretion in this regard.¹⁰

Order affirmed.

JOHNSON, J., files concurring opinion. CIRILLO, President Judge, files dissenting opinion.

1 . In fact, the marital settlement agreement provided for continued support payments by the father until each child reached twenty-three years of age or completed four years of post-high school education. The payments were to be seven and one-half (7'/2) percent of the father’s gross earned income for each child.

2 . The record established that although the children did not see their father very frequently, they were in regular contact. Periodically, Anthony would visit his father and grandparents in York and played golf with his father on those occasions. Appellant attended Anthony’s high school graduation and also visited him in college twice. Father accompanied son to his fraternity pinning since he had been a member of the same fraternity. Both father and son testified to telephone calls and letters.

3 . Among these awards were.: National Honor Society; National Merit Scholar; U.S. Army Reserve National Scholar Athlete Award; 1st Place in Elk’s Most Valuable Student Contest; 1st Place in American High School math exam and several other awards in math, history and science.

4 . Anthony applied to M.I.T. for financial assistance but was rejected on the basis of his father’s income. Although Anthony's college education is being subsidized in part by various awards and scholarships, including a National Merit Scholarship, these were awarded on the basis of merit not need.

5 . This figure included the child support payments for his daughter, Andrea.

6 . It would be ironic indeed if Anthony were made ineligible for financial aid from M.I.T. based on his father’s significant assets and yet was barred from relying on those same assets in seeking reasonable college support from his father. By awarding college support in this and other similar cases, the court attempts to mitigate the negative economic impact divorce has on children. See Maurer v. Maurer, 382 Pa.Super. 468, 555 A.2d 1294, 1297 (1989);

7 . In a misguided attempt to rely on this court’s recent decision in Milne v. Milne, 383 Pa.Super. 177, 556 A.2d 854 (1989), appellant argues that Anthony must "accept the consequences” of his decision to attend M.I.T. by depriving him of his father’s support in meeting his expenses there. Appellant’s comparison of this case to Milne is far-fetched. In. Milne the adult child had repudiated his mother in an offensive manner and then sought to impose his college costs on her. Here the relationship between the parties was undeniably warm. Moreover, all Anthony can be said to be guilty of is having the highest possible educational goals. The only "lesson” we would teach by accepting appellant’s argument would be that a child of divorced parents could not reap the benefits of having achieved outstanding academic success if by doing so it would place any additional burden on the non-custodial parent. We refuse to adopt such an approach.

8 . Appellant apparently regrets that he was not allowed to take advantage of the windfall which perhaps would have been his had his son elected to attend Georgia Tech. As has been noted by a member of this court, parents bear the primary financial responsibility for their childrens' college education and other sources of financial aid are both secondary and limited. Hopefully, if parents who can amply afford to do so meet their financial responsibilities, more resources will be available for those college-bound students who are in genuine need of aid. See Leonard v. Leonard, supra, concurring statement by Kelly, J., 510 A.2d at 832. In the instant case, appellant has already had his financial obligation reduced by the numerous scholarships and awards his son was able to obtain by his scholarly efforts.

9 . It is obvious, therefore, that appellant's contention that the trial court failed to consider appellee’s husband’s contribution to the household is wholly without merit.

10 . Appellant contends that the trial court should have included in its calculations of the mother’s financial assets available for Anthony's education the amount of child support being paid to her for Andrea. He further suggests that the mother failed to exercise proper "stewardship" of her previously received child support monies by failing to save more significant amounts of it for the childrens’ college education. We see no support for this contention in the record. On the contrary, the mother’s credible testimony indicated that the childrens’ expenses consistently exceeded the child support payments and that in addition she still had managed to save $4000.00 and $7000.00 for Anthony’s and Andrea’s education respectively. Moreover, we see nothing in the separation agreement or in the testimony which would indicate that the parties in any way contemplated that a portion of the child support amounts paid in the childrens’ minor years would be set aside to pay for college. In fact, the agreement's college support provision belies this interpretation.