Horse Related Expenses Can Be Extracurricular Activities

Illinois child support case summary.

Horse related expenses can be extracurricular activities in Illinois.

In re Marriage of Donald R. Hamilton, Jr., v. Mary L. Hamilton

The mother and father in this Monroe County, Illinois, case were married in 1998.  The mother had one son from a previous marriage, and two children were born during the marriage.  Only one of the children, a daughter, was a minor at the time of their divorce.

In 2010, the parties purchased two horses for the daughter.  There was no dispute that the first horse was for the daughter, but there was some dispute as to the reason for buying the second horse.  The mother’s position was that the second horse was so that an adult could always ride with the daughter.  The father took the position that the first horse was old, and the girl’s skills would likely improve.

After a few separations, the father ultimately filed for marital dissolution in 2013, and the case went to trial in 2015, with additional hearings held the following year.  The court made its order dissolving the marriage in 2017.  The mother was granted the majority of parenting time, as well as decision-making responsibility.

The court set child support, and also ordered the father to pay half of education expenses.  However, it held that horse related activities did not constitute extracurricular activities.  Therefore, the father was not required to pay a portion of these expenses.  Both parties then appealed to the Illinois Court of Appeals, Fifth District, and raised a number of issues, including the issues involving the horse expenses.  The appeals court addressed that issue first.

When the issue first came up in the lower court, the court asked the mother’s attorney whether the horses were related to the girl’s school.  The attorney replied that they were not related to her scholastic school, but were a big part of her life.  The mother testified that she defined extracurricular activities as having something to do with education but not on the curriculum.

The daughter, then 15, testified that she hoped to become an equine veterinarian, and had an interest in the study of horses.  She testified that she took riding lessons and participated in horse camps and drill teams.  There was also evidence that she was involved in 4-H activities run by the University of Illinois.  These included statewide competitions.

The mother argued that the trial court had incorrectly defined “extracurricular activities,” as being specific to education.

The relevant Illinois statute authorized courts to include costs of extracurricular activities, but did not define that term.  However, the appeals court held that in the absence of a statutory definition, a word or phrase must be given its plain and ordinary meaning.  After examining various dictionary definitions, the court concluded that the horse activities were within the definition of extracurricular activity.  It zeroed in on the fact that the daughter viewed this activity as part of pursuing her goal of becoming an equine veterinarian.  It pointed out that many of her competitions included content that was inherently educational in nature.

The court also looked to prior cases, where the definition included tutoring, sports, and camps.

Since the lower court used the wrong definition, the Court of Appeals remanded the case for a determination of whether these expenses should have been included.  It pointed out that the lower court was not required to include them, but that it should exercise its discretion in making that determination.

The appeals court also addressed other issues in the case.  After doing so, it affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded the case.

No. 5-17-0295, 2019 IL App (5^th) 170295 (Ill. Ct. App. Jun. 5,  2019).

See original opinion for exact language.  Legal citations omitted.

To learn more, see Child Support Laws in Tennessee.

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