Court tells divorced father to pay half daughter's $225,000 tuition

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Rutgers University history professor James C. Livingston was told to pay $112,500 so that his daughter can attend Ivy League Cornell Law School
Despite communications between father and daughter breaking down, Mr Livingston said he would pay $7,500 a year for her to attend Rutger's law

PUBLISHED: 14:25 EST, 6 March 2014 | UPDATED: 17:42 EST, 6 March 2014

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Rutgers' professor James Livingston has been ordered to pay $112,000 towards his daughter's law school tuition despite the fact they no longer speak

A father has been ordered to pay half of his daughter's $225,000 law school tuition despite the fact she cut contact with him five years, it has been revealed.

Rutgers University history professor James C. Livingston was told to pay $112,500 so that his daughter, identified only as 'J', can attend Cornell Law School.

The law school tuition is only a few thousand dollars short of Mr Livingston's annual college salary of $123,500.

Mr Livingston divorced from his wife Patricia Rossi in 2009 after 26 years of marriage.

The couple, who used to live in Highland Park, New Jersey, agreed to split the cost if their daughter attended law school and maintained a C average grade.

Following the divorce, Mr Livingston claims that his daughter no longer wanted to speak to him.

The college professor told MailOnline today that it was not true that he had fallen out with his daughter as was initially reported and that she had cut contact with him in 2009.

In an email, Mr Livingston wrote: 'She stopped communicating with me in 2009, but I assumed that once the high feelings understandably caused by the divorce had subsided, we would reconstruct our relationship.

'Our five-year estrangement is not a product of mutual agreement, in sum. It still feels inexplicable. It's her decision, not mine.'

Miss Livingston, 26, graduated from Rutgers University shortly before her parents divorce and did not enroll in law school until three years later.

Professor Livingston claimed in the lawsuit that his daughter had previously agreed to start law school within a year or two of undergrad but instead took time off and got a job.

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Despite communications between the father and daughter having broken down, Professor Livingston said he would pay $7,500 a year for his daughter to attend Rutger's law and live at home.

She decided to go to the Ivy League school Cornell in Ithaca, New York.

A two-judge appellate panel told Mr Livingston last month that a lower court's decision would be upheld.

The judges voted in favor of the professor's daughter saying that the divorce papers did not allow the father to dictate what school she could go to.

Professor Livingston was ordered by an appellate court on Wednesday to pay half of his daughter's quarter of a million dollar tuition to Cornell Law School

Professor Livingston also argued that he was not obligated to pay if his daughter was estranged.

Ms Rossi's lawyer Daniel Brown told NJ.com: 'You could read the tea leaves. The parties negotiated the settlement as to what their respective obligations would be.

The parties can agree to support the child and that's exactly what occurred here.'

Mr Livingston's lawyer Edward Snyder was not available for comment when contacted by MailOnline today.

There was no indication that the college professor would appeal the verdict.

NJ court orders divorced father to pay half of daughter's pricey law school expenses

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Comments (6)

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The comments below have been moderated in advance.

SW66Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom, 2 hours ago

If you mess up your marriage and fall out with your kids, that's not their fault and you should continue to act like a father or mother and not mess up their lives any more. Pay up - you are the adult.

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Zoey13, Pittsburgh, United States, 2 hours ago

26 years old and still wants mommy and daddy to pay for school, grow up honey & get a job or a student loan like many other people have to do. If she isn't speaking to her dad, then she shouldn't expect him to pay.

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Tracy, Massachusetts, United States, 2 hours ago

He and his ex-wife agreed to split the cost of their daughter's tuition, and that agreement doesn't end just because he and his daughter aren't on good terms anymore.

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sedagive42, Eustis, United States, 2 hours ago

I do not understand this new fangled idea of parents paying for full grown children to go to college as an obligation. If they want to that is different than saying they must. Even with a divorce agreenebt the woman is of legal age and her parents should no longer be obligated to pay for squat. If she were disabled then they should contribute, but she is able bodied and can work or take out loans. What a nation of whiners we are growing.

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aandm12, Laguna Hills, 2 hours ago

Belize is a lovely country, and I'm sure they need top notch educators....

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Kel, North Carolina, United States, 2 hours ago

He made the mistake of not specifying a set amount to be paid in the first place. There's a huge difference in tuition here, and if she wants to go to Cornell then she should pay the difference.