Lowther v. Lowther (In re Lowther)

No. 01-6359 (10th Cir. Dec. 31, 2002) ; Clearinghouse Number: 55116

Description

Court-Ordered Attorney Fees Are Dischargeable If Obligation Adversely Affects Custodial Parent's Ability to Support Child, Tenth Circuit Rules

Abstract

The Tenth Circuit held that when a custodial parent’s financial condition and the custody relationship were such that her obligation to pay court-ordered attorney fees would adversely affect her ability to support her child financially, the facts constituted “unusual circumstances” warranting a narrow exception to the general rule of nondischargeability. When defendant-appellee mother divorced plaintiff-appellant father, the state court granted mother custody of their child and required her to pay father $9,000 in attorney fees. Mother later filed a bankruptcy petition seeking to discharge, among other debts, the $9,000 in fees. Father sought to have the fees deemed nondischargeable under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(5), classifying alimony and other support payments as nondischargeable. The bankruptcy court held that the fees were nondischargeable. Reversing the court, the bankruptcy appellate panel held the fees to be dischargeable; it stated that “if a parent’s income is so insubstantial that the obligation to pay attorney’s fees will clearly affect the parent’s ability to financially support the child for a significant duration, that would present an unusual circumstance under” In re Jones, 9 F.3d 878 (10th Cir. 1993). Affirming the panel’s decision, the Tenth Circuit noted that unusual circumstances most likely to warrant an exception were those where discharge was in the child’s best interests. Here the Tenth Circuit found that requiring mother to pay the $9,000 payment would negate for at least five years the support payments that the state court awarded.

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Attorney Information
Docket Date
2002-12-31 00:00:00+00:00

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