## Facts

- Stephen D. Chamberlain and Judith C. Chamberlain divorced in 2009 after a 21-year marriage; Stephen was the primary wage earner and Judith largely stayed home to raise their three children.
- The divorce decree incorporated a marital settlement agreement requiring Stephen, after specified college accounts were exhausted, to pay each child’s undergraduate college costs (including tuition, room and board, books, and fees) for four consecutive years.
- After Stephen failed to pay, a 2011 state-court consent order reaffirmed the college-expense obligation and included repayment of certain undergraduate student loans incurred by two of the children.
- A later consent order required Stephen to contribute up to $14,000 per academic year toward the youngest child’s college expenses.
- Continued noncompliance led to a contempt finding and a state-court judgment for $14,000 (for one year of college expenses) plus attorney’s fees.
- Stephen filed Chapter 13 bankruptcy; Judith filed a proof of claim seeking priority treatment for the student-loan repayment amounts and the youngest child’s college-expense amounts as “domestic support obligations.”
- The bankruptcy court allowed the claim as a priority domestic support obligation; the district court affirmed.

## Issues

1. Whether obligations in divorce-related agreements and consent orders to pay children’s college expenses (including repayment of certain student loans) are “domestic support obligations” under 11 U.S.C. § 101(14A).
2. If so, whether those debts receive priority under 11 U.S.C. § 507(a)(1) and are nondischargeable in Chapter 13 under 11 U.S.C. §§ 523(a)(5) and 1322(a)(2).

## Decision

- The Tenth Circuit affirmed the district court and bankruptcy court.
- The court held the college-expense obligations—including repayment of certain undergraduate student loans and the capped annual contribution toward college costs—were “domestic support obligations.”
- Because the debts were DSOs, they were properly treated as priority claims and were not dischargeable in the Chapter 13 case.

## Legal Principles

- A “domestic support obligation” under 11 U.S.C. § 101(14A) includes debts “in the nature of alimony, maintenance, or support” established by a separation agreement, divorce decree, or court order, regardless of the label used.
- Federal bankruptcy law applies a functional test: the court examines the substance and purpose of the obligation to determine whether it functions as support.
- Children’s educational expenses may qualify as support when the divorce-related allocation of payment responsibility is intended to provide for the children’s welfare and needs.
- Obligations tied to enforcement of support-type duties (including judgments arising from nonpayment) may retain the support character for bankruptcy classification.

## Conclusion

The court treated the divorce-based commitments to fund the children’s undergraduate education—including specified student-loan repayments and a capped annual college-expense contribution—as support obligations, making them priority domestic support obligations and nondischargeable in Chapter 13.


In re Chamberlain, 721 F. App’x 826 (10th Cir. 2018)