Ex Parte State Ex Rel. Summerlin

This child support case, arising under the Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act (URESA), §§ 304-80 to -98, Ala. Code 1975, presents a novel legal question: Does a noncustodial parent have a duty to support his or her minor child even when the parents' divorce judgment specifically provides that "The parties agree that there will be no child support payments"?

We hold that all minor children have a fundamental right to parental support and that the divorce judgment in this case does not relieve either parent of the obligation to support a child, even though the child is not in his or…