FAMILY LAW
Supreme Court of Alaska (2025)
Alison Tobin
In Wills v. Humphries, 564 P.3d 272 (Alaska 2025), the Supreme Court of Alaska held that a child support offset may be granted to a parent who is owed attorneys’ fees by the other parent. (Id. at 282). When Robert Wills and Aniela Humphries divorced in 2012, they entered into a shared custody schedule of their three minor children. (Id. at 273-74). After Wills breached the custody agreement in 2020, Humphries was awarded $21,000 in attorneys’ fees. (Id. at 247). In July 2022, Wills chose to move from Alaska to South Carolina with the three children, moving to modify their custody arrangement. (Id.). The Court granted his motion and increased Humphries’ child support payments. (Id. at 275). In September 2023, Humphries filed a request to have the amount she owed in child support payments to be offset by the amount Wills owed her in attorneys’ fees. (Id.). The lower court granted her motion and Wills appealed, arguing that the superior court abused its discretion by offsetting the amount Humphries owed him. (Id. at 275-76). The Supreme Court of Alaska found the offset to be proper, relying on Alaska Civil Rule 90.3(c)’s authorization for a court to offset child support if good cause exists and if the offset is in the best interest of the children. (Id. at 276). The Supreme Court of Alaska found that the lower court did not abuse its discretion, given the court properly held evidentiary hearings to fully identify the financial circumstances of both parties and through this process, concluded that the offset would allow Humphries to use the money Wills owed her to travel to see the children. (Id. at 281–82). Given seeing their mother is in the children’s best interest, the Supreme Court of Alaska affirmed, holding that an offset of child support may be granted to a parent who is owed attorneys’ fees by the other parent when good cause exists and an offset in the best interest of the children. (Id. at 282).
