TN Dad Liable for College Expenses, Despite Lack of College Choice

Tennessee law case summary on college expenses in divorce and family law from the Court of Appeals.

Nancy Parson Hill (Bowron) v. Mark David Hill – Tennessee divorce college expenses.

The mother and father of three daughters were divorced in 2003.  Knowing that the daughters would be attending college, they addressed college expenses in their marital dissolution agreement and permanent parenting plan.  That plan stated that expenses would first be paid from the children’s college funds, and that uncovered expenses would be divided equally by the parents.

With some difficulty, the parents each paid the expenses for the two oldest daughters.  When the youngest daughter attended college, the father claimed that he was not consulted about the daughter’s choice of the University of Alabama and that the tuition was too expensive.  Therefore, he decided to pay only $2500 per semester.  The mother filed a petition in Williamson County, Tennessee, for enforcement of the original contract.  That court awarded her $23,750.60, representing the father’s unpaid portion, along with $6225 in attorney fees.  Dissatisfied, the father appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

The trial court had found that the agreement was ambiguous, because it said that both parents would “jointly participate” in the choice of college.  The trial court had resolved this ambiguity in the mother’s favor.  However, the Court of Appeals held that there was no ambiguity:  The provision stated merely that both parents would participate in the decision.  It did not give either parent any kind of veto power, which was what the father was claiming.

The father had been part of the discussions.  Even though the daughter did not heed his advice, the Court of Appeals held that he had participated as called for in the agreement.  The father also pointed to a situation where the mother had refused to pay for part of a daughter’s living expenses during college.  However, the Court of Appeals found that this did not relate to the choice of college, and was irrelevant.

The Court of Appeals pointed out that if the father had wanted a veto power in the college decision, he “did not use the right language” in the agreement.  The Court did look at the overall reasonableness of the college expenses, and concluded that they were reasonable given the circumstances, including the father’s ability to pay.

The Court of Appeals did agree with the father that he should not be required to pay prejudgment interest, given the circumstances of the case.  It did, however, award the mother her attorney fees for the appeal, and remanded the case to the trial court to determine the amount of those fees.  It also assessed the costs of the appeal against the father.

No. M2012-02699-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Oct. 11, 2013).

See original opinion for exact language.  Legal citations omitted.

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