Opinion · Supreme Court of the United States

Yarborough v. Yarborough

Yarborough v. Yarborough, 290 U.S. 202 (1933)

Type
Opinion
Court
Supreme Court of the United States
Jurisdiction
Federal
Date
1933-12-04
Topic
general

How later courts describe this case

  • distinguishing between the temporary residence of a child in a state, where she had been taken by a parent, and the child’s legal domicile
  • “[I]n order that children may not become public charges the duty of maintenance is one imposed primarily upon the parents, according to the needs of the child and their ability to meet those needs.”
  • “[Minor child] was not capable by her own act of changing her domicile.”]. Grange, 494 Mich at 503 n 53. Quoting MCL 722.4e(1)(d
  • “[Minor child] was not capable by her own act of changing her domicile.”
  • "The character and extent of the father's obligation, and the status of the minor, are determined ordinarily, not by the place of the minor’s residence, but by the law of the father's domicile.”
  • full faith and credit required

Citator

Yarborough v. Yarborough is good law as far as the corpus records: followed by 1 later decision, and nothing recorded condemns it.

Authority status
positive
Cited by
190 opinions
Followed
1 times

Headnotes

  1. Constitutional Law — Full Faith and Credit A decree of a state court fixing the obligation of a divorced father for the support and education of his minor child is binding, under the full faith and credit clause, upon the courts of another state to which the child and the divorced mother have removed, and precludes those courts from imposing additional contributions on the father; the full faith and credit clause applies to an unalterable decree of alimony for a minor child as it does to an unalterable decree of alimony for a divorced wife. 290 U.S. at 208, 213
  2. Family Law — Consent Decrees Under Georgia law, a consent decree or order in a divorce proceeding fixing permanent alimony for a minor child may be entered at any stage of the divorce proceedings, before or after rendition of the two concurring verdicts required for a total divorce, and has the same effect as if based upon and specifically mentioned in the second verdict; like any other judgment, it becomes unalterable after the expiration of the term at which the total divorce was granted. 290 U.S. at 209–210
  3. Family Law — Rights of Minor Children The obligation imposed by law upon a father to support his minor child does not vest a property right in the child, as shown by the fact that the child cannot maintain a suit in his own name, by guardian ad litem, or by next friend against the father to enforce the obligation; the provision for permanent alimony for the child during minority is a legal incident of the divorce proceeding, and jurisdiction over the parents in that suit confers jurisdiction over the minor's custody and support. 290 U.S. at 210
  4. Family Law — Divorce A consent or other decree in a divorce suit fixing permanent alimony for a minor child is binding upon the child, although the child was not served with process, was not made a formal party to the suit, and was not represented by a guardian ad litem. 290 U.S. at 210
  5. Civil Procedure — Choice of Law A minor's domicile follows that of the father; the child cannot by her own act change her domicile, and neither temporary residence elsewhere nor removal with the mother before entry of the divorce judgment effects a change, absent a voluntary relinquishment of parental authority. The character and extent of the father's obligation and the status of the minor are determined ordinarily not by the place of the minor's residence but by the law of the father's domicile. 290 U.S. at 211
  6. Civil Procedure — Choice of Law Where both parents appear in a divorce proceeding in the state of the father's domicile, the court acquires complete jurisdiction of the marriage status and, as an incident, power to finally determine the extent of the father's obligation to support his minor child, even though the child was residing in another state when the judgment was entered. 290 U.S. at 211–212
  7. Constitutional Law — Full Faith and Credit The fact that a child has become a resident of another state does not empower that state to impose additional duties of support upon the father, who continues to be domiciled in the state of the divorce decree and who has fulfilled the duty owed under the law of his domicile; the father is entitled to rely upon that judgment. 290 U.S. at 212–213