Ex parte Christopher
Supreme Court of Alabama
145 So. 3d 60 (2013)
Carolyn and Phillip Christopher divorced while their son was still a minor. After the divorce, Phillip petitioned the trial court to compel Carolyn, the noncustodial parent, to pay a share of their son's college expenses; the son turned 19 (Alabama's age of majority) just four days after Phillip filed the petition. Alabama's child-custody statute referred generally to 'children of the marriage' without defining 'children' or addressing when a child ages out of eligibility for support. The trial court granted Phillip's petition and ordered Carolyn to pay 25 percent of the college expenses; Carolyn appealed.
Whether a trial court may order a noncustodial parent to pay postminority college expenses under a child-custody statute that refers to 'children of the marriage' but does not itself authorize support for children who have reached the age of majority.