The debtor and the plaintiff used to be married to each other. As part of the dissolution of their marriage and the arrangements for child custody and support, the debtor was ordered to pay a certain amount of monthly child support. She also was ordered to pay attorney fees incurred by the plaintiff as part of the district court and appellate court litigation they engaged in.
In this adversary proceeding, the bankruptcy court determined that under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(5), only the child support was excepted from discharge. The attorney fee awards were not in the nature of support and could not be considered to be domestic support obligations. However, the attorney fees do fall within the scope of 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(15), which excepts from discharge certain debts incurred in connection with a divorce that do not constitute domestic support obligations. Accordingly, the attorney fees are not dischargeable.