THE END OF COLLEGE EDUCATION SUPPORT?
February 4, 2013 § 2 Comments
The seminal case of Nichols v. Tedder, 547 So.2d 766 (Miss. 1989) established once and for all two significant principles of Mississippi family law: One, that the duty of support for a child includes college education support; and two, that the duty to support a child can extend no further than the child’s 21st birthday.
Senate Bill 2339, introduced in this session by Senator Burton, would eradicate both principles.
The bill would amend MCA 93-11-65 with this language:
(9) (a) The duty of support of a child terminates upon the emancipation of the child. Unless otherwise provided for in the underlying child support judgment, for child support orders established on or after July 1, 2013, emancipation shall occur when the child:
(i) Attains the age of eighteen (18) years or graduates from high school, whichever comes later, but in no event shall the duty of support continue after the age of nineteen (19) unless otherwise agreed to in the support order, or
(ii) Marries, or
(iv) [sic] Joins the military and serves on a full-time basis, or
(b) Unless otherwise provided for in the underlying child support judgment established on or after July 1, 2013, the 260 court may determine that emancipation has occurred and no other support obligation exists when the child:
(i) Discontinues full-time enrollment in school having attained the age of eighteen (18) years, unless the child is disabled, or
(ii) Cohabits with another person without the approval of the parent obligated to pay support.
(c) The duty of support of a child who is incarcerated but 268 not emancipated shall be suspended for the period of the child’s incarceration. [Emphasis added]
The implications of these changes for divorce practitioners?
Under our present law, the parties may agree to college education support to age 21 (or beyond if they can agree). They know that if they can not reach an agreement the court will likely order college support to age 21, which is the limit of the court’s authority under Nichols v. Tedder. So, recognizing the likelihood, most divorcing parents agree to college education support to age 21.
Under this bill, unless the parties agree, the duty of support will absolutely end at age 19, which would be during the sophomore or possibly junior year of college for most children. The court would have no authority to order any support beyond age nineteen, eliminating the bargaining pressure in favor of college support.
Based on years of experience negotiating PSA’s, I expect that college education support will fall into the category of “my client prefers to help his child voluntarily rather than being bound by any contract,” which translates into “he’ll never do it,” or “he might agree in the future if his ex will give up something more.”
Anyone who has practiced any amount of divorce law is painfully aware of what many refer to as “divorce blackmail.” That’s the situation created by our present statutory divorce scheme, which requires the parties to agree in order to obtain a divorce where one of the fault grounds is not applicable. The party wanting the divorce more must give up more, sometimes everything, just to obtain the divorce. Under this bill, you can add college education support to the already long list of bargaining chips.
College education has been found conclusively to be a good thing for young people. It makes their financial future more secure, enhances earning ability, exposes them to new ideas, expands their horizons, and imparts advantages to them in innumerable ways. Children of divorced parents already face many financial challenges. Why would the public policy of Mississippi be to diminish the opportunity of children in a divorce to a college education?
The only reasons assigned for this proposal that I have heard are: (1) that Mississippi and New York are the last two remaining states who have 21 for the age of emancipation; (2) that lowering the emancipation age is the quid pro quo demanded by some legislators for them to agree to raise the statutory child support guidelines; and (3) that it would save DHS a lot of money.
The fact that we are one of only two states with this particular age of majority seems to me a laughable justification. If we were to go through and change every law where we were one of only a few states with a certain provision, we would literally have to rewrite our code, including elimination of separate equity courts (only four other states, as far as I know). Although we should always be informed and inspired by what other states do, our laws should be based on what is best for Mississippians, not on what everyone else is doing. The acid test should be: “How does this benefit our children?”
The second reason, about raising the guidelines, is based on an earlier part of the bill that would increase guideline child support percentages. The quid pro quo is that if we are going to increase the amount of child support being paid, we should decrease the amount of exposure time for the payer. I understand the politics of trade-offs, but how does this benefit children in Mississippi?
The last is a byproduct of the harsh 21st century reality that many policy decisions that directly and indirectly affect many citizens are driven by budget considerations, often budget considerations that those same citizens neither benefit from themselves nor will ever. Yes, this will be a boon to the bean-counters at budget time, but again, how does it benefit our children?
I would have less heartburn with this bill if it were amended to add an education clause that would authorize court-ordered education support — college, technical, or otherwise — to age 21.
The Better Chancery Practice Blog 
I hear this is dead…at least for this term.
Thanks. I hope you’re hearing right.