Dingley v. Dingley

The issue in this case is whether the parties’ son, who is a cadet at the United States Air Force Academy and who receives substantial financial assistance therefrom, is “emancipated” for purposes of a divorce decree requiring the defendant to pay the plaintiff child support until the parties’ children reach age twenty-one or are emancipated, whichever occurs first. We hold that he is and reverse the trial court’s decision in favor of the plaintiff.

The parties were divorced in New York in 1973. The divorce decree ordered the defendant to pay the plaintiff $525 per month in alimony and $300…