We previously discussed Catholic school tuition in a Bucks County divorce. In Gibbons v. Kugle,the court decided upon mother's request for a support adjustment for Catholic school.
Parochial schools fall within the definition of a private academic school and, therefore, within the purview of Pa.R.C.P. No. 1910.16-6(d) of the Pennsylvania Child Support Guidelines. The Pennsylvania Child Support Guidelines allow a court to include private school tuition in the support amount if the court determines that the need for private school is a reasonable one. In determining whether a need is reasonable, the Pennsylvania Superior Court has stated: A private school education may be a reasonable need for a child if it is demonstrated that the child will benefit from such and if private schooling is consistent with the family's standard of living and station in life before the separation. If these factors are proved, a court may order a parent to provide financial support for the private schooling of a minor child.
Remember --In the context of the factors to be used in determining standard of living for purposes of a child support order, the critical factor in determining the standard of living is clearly the financial circumstances of the obligee, not his philosophical position on the precise limits of the good life - what he can afford is the question, not what he is willing to pay for. In determining standard of living, one must look to available income and the lifestyle that the income would support. This is consistent with other decisions in this jurisdiction that have defined standard of living and station in life in terms of economic factors. The term "standard of living" refers to the level of material comfort as measured by the goods, services, and luxuries available to an individual, group, or nation. These must be discussed with your Bucks County divorce lawyer.
In Gibbons v. Kugle, at the time of the father's separation from appellee mother, the child was not of school age. The child moved out-of-state with the mother and began attending public school when she became school age. After the mother remarried, the mother and child moved into the stepfather's household and school district. The child attended a public school in which there were disciplinary problems, fights, and other disruptions. As a result, the mother placed the child in a parochial school. The school's tuition was $ 6,230. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in ordering the father, pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. No. 1910.16-6(d), to pay parochial school tuition. The trial court's factual findings supporting the determination that private school was a reasonable need were supported by the record. Parochial school was consistent with the family's standard of living prior to the separation. The fact that the child did not attend parochial school prior to the separation was of no moment, as the child was not of school age at that time and the father had a substantial income at the time of the separation and at the time of the instant appeal.