Ex parte Bayliss - 550 So. 2d 986 (Ala. 1989)

Rule:

The trial court has the jurisdiction to require parents to provide post-minority support for college education to children of a marriage that has been terminated by divorce.

Facts:

The ex-wife's petition claimed that the son would not be able to complete his college education without continued support from the ex-husband and petitioned for a modification of their divorce decree. The trial court denied the petition. The intermediate appellate court affirmed the trial court's denial of the petition in reliance on precedent declaring that the legal obligation to educate an adult child beyond the age of majority only applied where the child was either physically or mentally disabled or where there was an agreement. The child was not disabled. The ex-wife filed a petition for writ of certiorari.

Issue:

In Alabama, does a trial court have jurisdiction to require parents to provide post-minority support for college education to children of a marriage that has been terminated by divorce?

Answer:

Yes.

Conclusion:

The court held that the duty to pay child support included the duty to pay for a college education beyond the legislatively prescribed age of majority, which was 18 years of age. In so holding, the court expanded the former exception to the general rule that the duty to contribute to the support and education ended when the child reached the age of majority. Cases conflicting with the court's holding were specifically overruled.