Marshall v. Marshall, S92A1063

Decision Date05 October 1992
Docket NumberNo. S92A1063,S92A1063
Citation421 S.E.2d 71,262 Ga. 443
PartiesMARSHALL v. MARSHALL.
CourtGeorgia Supreme Court

John R. Thigpen, Sr., Blackshear, for Bruce Wayne Marshall.

Thomas M. Hackel, Hackel & Hackel, Waycross, for Kimberly Karol marshall.

FLETCHER, Justice.

The parties' divorce decree, consistent with the jury verdict, requires the noncustodial parent to deposit a fixed sum in an interest-bearing account in the name of the parties' minor child with the principal and accrued interest to be paid to the minor on her eighteenth birthday. We granted this discretionary application to consider whether this provision violates the proscription against requiring the payment of child support after a child reaches the age of majority.

1. Neither a judge nor jury may require a parent to provide child support beyond the age of majority. Clavin v. Clavin, 238 Ga. 421, 422, 233 S.E.2d 151 (1977). Therefore, a parent cannot be ordered to establish an account for a child from which no distribution is to be made until the child reaches 18, the age of majority. See Coleman v. Coleman, 240 Ga. 417, 423, 240 S.E.2d 870 (1977). Finding the jury verdict unlawfully imposes child support obligations on the father beyond the age of his daughter's majority, we reverse.

2. The jury verdict suggests that the jury expected the father to invest $19,000 towards his daughter's college education. Because our decision works a substantial change in the jury's allocation of resources between the parties, we remand the case for a new trial. See Stone v. Stone, 258 Ga. 716, 717, 373 S.E.2d 627 (1988).

Judgment reversed.

CLARKE, C.J., BELL, P.J., and HUNT, BENHAM and SEARS-COLLINS, JJ., concur.

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5 cases
  • Mims v. Mims
    • United States
    • Georgia Supreme Court
    • May 11, 2015
    ...obligation to pay college expenses for his adult daughter arose solely from the parties' settlement agreement. See Marshall v. Marshall, 262 Ga. 443, 421 S.E.2d 71 (1992)(“Neither a judge nor jury may require a parent to provide child support beyond the age of majority.”). However, once the......
  • Mattocks v. Matus
    • United States
    • Georgia Supreme Court
    • February 12, 1996
    ... ... See Marshall v. Marshall, 262 Ga ... 443, 421 S.E.2d 71 (1992); Coleman v. Coleman, 240 Ga. 417, 422(5), 240 ... ...
  • Gardner v. Gardner, S94A0222
    • United States
    • Georgia Supreme Court
    • April 4, 1994
    ...be stricken and that a new trial not be granted. Compare Stone v. Stone, 258 Ga. 716, 373 S.E.2d 627 (1988); Marshall v. Marshall, 262 Ga. 443, 421 S.E.2d 71 (1992). Judgment affirmed in part; reversed in part with All the Justices concur, except SEARS-COLLINS, HUNSTEIN and THOMPSON, JJ., w......
  • In re Jones
    • United States
    • United States Appellate Court of Illinois
    • January 13, 2016
    ...(West 2012). “Neither a judge nor jury may require a parent to provide child support beyond the age of majority.” Marshall v. Marshall, 262 Ga. 443, 421 S.E.2d 71, 72 (1992). In Georgia, a court may not require a parent to pay college expenses for a child who is 18 years old or older. Wood ......
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