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IN THE COURT OF APPEALS11/12/96 OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI
NO. 93-CA-01228 COA

SONDRA DENISE BROWN, BY AND THROUGH HER MOTHER AND NEXT FRIEND, MARY MIERS BROWN APPELLANT v. FRED LEE MCMATH APPELLEE

THIS OPINION IS NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION AND MAY NOT BE CITED, PURSUANT TO M.R.A.P. 35-B

TRIAL JUDGE: HON. MELVIN MCCLURE COURT FROM WHICH APPEALED: GRENADA COUNTY CHANCERY COURT ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: LEON JOHNSON ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE: A. E. (GENE) HARLOW SR. BENJAMIN MACK MITCHELL NATURE OF THE CASE: DOMESTIC RELATIONS - CHILD SUPPORT TRIAL COURT DISPOSITION: CHILD SUPPORT AND COLLEGE EXPENSES TERMINATED AT AGE 18

BEFORE BRIDGES, P.J., BARBER, AND MCMILLIN, JJ.

BRIDGES, P.J., FOR THE COURT:

This is a domestic relations case. The Chancery Court of Grenada County terminated child support and medical care of an eighteen-year-old minor. The Appellant argues the court was manifestly wrong, and the termination was against public policy because parents cannot contract away a minor's child support before age twenty-one. The Appellee argues that this was a court ordered disposition of a paternity claim, not a contract between the two parties to terminate child support before the minor child's twenty-first birthday, and therefore the court lawfully ended child support. We agree with the Appellant and reverse the chancery court's decision terminating child support because child support may not be extinguished before a child's twenty-first birthday pursuant to Mississippi Code, sections 93-5-23 and 93-11-65. STATEMENT OF THE FACTS Sondra Denise Brown was born to Mary Miers Brown on August 24, 1972. On December 15, 1986, a complaint to establish paternity was filed in the Chancery Court of Grenada County naming Appellee, Fred Lee McMath, as Sondra's natural father. A decree of paternity and support was entered by the court on March 16, 1987. The decree adjudicated Fred McMath as the natural father of Sondra, and Mary Miers Brown to be the natural mother. The decree ordered both parents to carry Sondra on their insurance policies and any extra medical expenses to be covered equally. It provided that Mr. McMath pay the sum of $35 per week until Sondra "attains the age of eighteen years and finishes high school, ceases to be dependant upon her parents for support, or becomes emancipated." The decree further provided that should the requirements of Pass v. Pass be met, then Mr. McMath should be required to contribute to the college education of Sondra. Sondra finished high school in May 1990. She turned eighteen on August 24, 1990, at which time Mr. McMath stopped making child support payments pursuant to the paternity order. Sondra began college in September 1990 on full academic scholarship. Ms. Brown, the Appellant, filed a complaint for citation for contempt and for modification on October 8, 1992. The complaint was heard April 7, 1993, with a decision rendered on July 9, 1993. The court denied the Appellant relief stating that the filiation decree controlled, ending all child support, health insurance coverage, and medical bills at the age of eighteen. As to modification of the support, which asked the Appellee to contribute to the college education of Sondra, the court ruled that the Appellant had failed to prove her case. SCOPE OF REVIEW This Court has a limited scope of review concerning the chancellor's decision regarding matters of child support. We are without authority to disturb the chancellor's decision unless we determine that there has been a manifest abuse of discretion or an erroneous application of law. Ethridge v. Ethridge, 648 So. 2d 1143, 1145-46 (Miss. 1995). Findings of facts will be affirmed where there is substantial evidence in the record to support the chancellor's findings, and absent manifest error, this

Court will not reverse. Gebetsberger v. East, 627 So. 2d 823, 826 (Miss. 1993); Bank of Mississippi v. Hollingsworth, 609 So. 2d 422, 424 (Miss. 1992) (citations omitted). ARGUMENTS AND DISCUSSION OF THE LAW I. DID THE LOWER COURT ERR IN TERMINATING CHILD SUPPORT FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE MINOR CHILD AT AGE EIGHTEEN?

Twenty-one is the age of majority in Mississippi for purposes of child care and maintenance orders issued pursuant to the Mississippi Code, sections 93-5-23 and 93-11-65. Parents cannot contract away rights vested in minor children, such as child support, because such a contract is against public policy. Miss. Code Ann.

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