IN THE SUPREME COURT OF MISSISSIPPI

NO. 94-CA-01186-SCT

SUSAN STATEN

v.

J. RONALD STATEN, M.D.

THIS OPINION IS NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION AND MAY NOT BE CITED,

PURSUANT TO M.R.A.P. 35-A

DATE OF JUDGMENT: 10/20/94

TRIAL JUDGE: HON. SEBE DALE JR.

COURT FROM WHICH APPEALED: FORREST COUNTY CHANCERY COURT

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: DAVID P. OLIVER

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE: NANCY E. STEEN

NATURE OF THE CASE: CIVIL - DOMESTIC RELATIONS

DISPOSITION: AFFIRMED - 4/24/97

MOTION FOR REHEARING FILED:

MANDATE ISSUED:

BEFORE PRATHER, P.J., BANKS AND McRAE, JJ.

BANKS, JUSTICE, FOR THE COURT:

Susan Staten appeals the decision of the Forrest County Chancery Court to decline to award her child

support from J. Ronald Staten, her former husband, in addition to the support that the court had

ordered be paid directly to the child. Because we find that the chancery court's order is well within

the law and its discretion, we affirm.

I

This appeal arises out of a Complaint filed by Susan Staten against J. Ronald Staten, seeking

modification of an Ohio Divorce Decree which had awarded custody of their minor children to Susan

Staten. That Decree had also ordered J. Ronald Staten to pay child support in the amount of $1,333

per month until the youngest child reached the age of majority. Susan Staten pled below that there

had been a material change in circumstances which would justify a modification of the Ohio judgment

such that the child support award should be extended until their youngest child reached the age of

twenty-one, the age of majority under the law of Mississippi.
The appellee, J. Ronald Staten, submitted to the jurisdiction of the Forrest County Chancery Court,

and agreed to support the child until he reached the age of twenty-one. In October, 1994, the

chancellor entered a judgment requiring Mr. Staten to pay for and satisfy all costs associated with the

child's attendance at college, including tuition, fees, required books and supplies, and room and

board.(1) Mr. Staten was further required to provide direct payment to the child in the amount $500

per semester, for clothing and other related personal items, and $60 per week for general spending

money. Finally, Mr. Staten was required to provide a health insurance policy for the child, and to

satisfy any additional uncovered costs associated with reasonable and necessary medical, dental,

optical, or other medical needs. These obligations were extended to the date at which the child

reached twenty-one.

Susan Staten appeals this judgment, asserting that the chancellor erred in failing to order Mr. Staten

to pay some amount of child support to her directly, in addition to the educational and living

expenses that he had been ordered to pay.

II.

"Chancellors in this state are given broad discretion in cases regarding the modification of child

support." Morris v. Stacy, 641 So. 2d 1194, 1196 (Miss. 1994). Furthermore, it is well-settled that

this Court will not disturb the findings of a chancellor when supported by substantial evidence unless

the chancellor has abused his discretion, was manifestly wrong, clearly erroneous or an erroneous

legal standard was applied. Bowers Window and Door Company, Inc. v. Dearman, 549 So. 2d

1309 (Miss. 1989) (citing Culbreath v. Johnson, 427 So. 2d 705, 707-708 (Miss. 1983)); Bullard v.

Morris, 547 So. 2d 789, 791 (Miss. 1989).

This Court has adjudicated the responsibility of parents to pay for a child's college education in the

form of an increase in child support payments. See Rankin v. Bobo, 410 So. 2d 1326 (Miss. 1982);

Pass v. Pass, 238 Miss. 449, 118 So. 2d 769 (1960). This Court in Nichols v. Tedder, 547 So. 2d

766 (Miss. 1989), however, distinguished "regular" child support which refers to the sums of money

a particular parent is ordered to pay for the child's basic, necessary living expenses, from other sums

of money which a parent may be ordered to pay under §§ 93-5-23 and 93-11-65 of the Mississippi

Code for a child's college education, health insurance, medical expenses, and other similar types of

expenses. This Court further stated in Lawrence v. Lawrence, 574 So. 2d 1376 (Miss. 1991), that

"college expenses are not technically 'child support' . . . ." Id. at 1382.

In the instant case, the custodial parent has requested that child support be paid to her in addition to

the award that the chancellor has ordered be paid directly to the child. "Child support is awarded to

the custodial parent for the benefit and protection of the child, the underlying principle being the

legal duty owed to the child for the child's maintenance and best interest." Alexander v. Alexander,

494 So. 2d 365, 368 (Miss. 1986) (citing Hailey v. Holden, 457 So. 2d 947 (Miss. 1984)) (emphasis

added).

This Court recognized in Alexander that a non-custodial parent effectively discharges his child

support obligations by directly supporting the child. In Alexander, the Court refused to affirm a

chancellor's award of past-due child support to the custodial parent of the child, where the

noncustodial parent had temporarily maintained custody of the child and had child support payments

directly to the child during that period. We stated that affirming the chancellor's ruling in such a
circumstance would create "a situation of unjust enrichment in Mrs. Alexander [the custodial parent]

." The concept of direct child support payments has been recognized in more recent cases as well.

See, e.g., Burkett v. Burkett, 537 So. 2d 443, 446 (Miss. 1989); see also Crow v. Crow, 622 So. 2d

1226, 1231 (Miss. 1993).

We hold that the Chancery Court acted well within its discretion in not ordering J. Ronald Staten to

make child support payments to his child's mother in addition to the aforementioned award.

Therefore, the judgment is affirmed.

AFFIRMED.

LEE, C.J., PRATHER AND SULLIVAN, P.JJ., PITTMAN, McRAE, ROBERTS, SMITH AND

MILLS, JJ., CONCUR.

1. The child was required to attend a state-supported institution in the State of Mississippi and to

maintain a grade point average of 2.0 or higher, the grade point necessary to achieve graduation at

the institution he attended at the time.