Buehler v. Buehler

Citations

• 211 Conn. App. 357

Syllabus

The plaintiff, whose marriage to the defendant previously had been dis- solved, appealed to this court from the judgment of the trial court issuing a postsecondary educational support order pursuant to statute ((Rev. to 2015) § 46b-56c). On appeal, the plaintiff claimed, inter alia, that the court misconstrued § 46b-56c (d) when it entered the support order, because the defendant had excluded him from the college selection process of their daughter, H, and, therefore, failed to satisfy the require- ment of § 46b-56c (d) that both parents participate in and agree upon the institution of higher education that H would attend. Held: 1. The plaintiff could not prevail on his claim that the trial court, in ordering him to pay a portion of H's college education expenses, misconstrued § 46b-56c (d): although the language of the statute creates a mandatory duty on both parents to participate in and reach an agreement upon which college a child will attend, the court found that the plaintiff had excluded himself from H's college selection process, as the evidence showed that the defendant informed the plaintiff of the colleges to which H had applied but that the plaintiff never discussed this information with either the defendant or H, did not object to any of the colleges or suggest alternative institutions, and did not timely open messages from the defendant asking him to complete financial aid forms for H; more- over, the defendant was not required to seek an order resolving the issue of which institution of higher education H would attend before seeking a support order, as the plaintiff's refusal to participate in H's college selection process did not provide the defendant with notice that the plaintiff would disagree with H's choice of college, and, in granting the defendant's motion, the court exercised its authority pursuant to § 46b-56c (d) to resolve any disagreement between the parties. 2. The plaintiff could not prevail on his claim that the trial court improperly