OPINION AND ORDER
This proceeding was brought to determine the dischargeability of an obligation of the defendant debtor under a divorce judgment. At trial the plaintiff was represented by attorney John Heibl of Madison, Wisconsin and defendant was represented by attorney William Dyke of Mineral Point, Wisconsin.
Plaintiff Dorothy Chambers was divorced from defendant Wayne Chambers in 1975, after a marriage of approximately thirty years. The divorce decree (“judgment”) granted Mrs. Chambers a house in Hollan-dale, Wisconsin, which was then subject to a mortgage in favor of Bameveld State *44 Bank. Mr. Chambers was ordered to convey his interest in the property to plaintiff and to “cause to be executed and recorded a good and sufficient satisfaction of mortgage from said Barneveld State Bank.” In addition, plaintiff received a car, miscellaneous household furnishings, and stock worth about $1,000.00. The defendant was granted a farm in Hollandale, a lumberyard, also in Hollandale, a house in Mt. Horeb and a trailer lot in Crawford County, Wisconsin, along with various vehicles. A written stipulation for “division of the property of the parties in lieu of all alimony” was also noted in the Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, signed by Judge Buenzli of the Dane County Court on February 28, 1975, and incorporated in the judgment without reference to the “lieu of all alimony” provision.
At the time of the divorce, plaintiff, whose formal education ended with the tenth grade, was employed part-time as a cleaning person, and earned about $370.00 per month. She also received rent of approximately $75.00 per month from the house in Hollandale. Defendant testified that at the same time he was an auto salesman earning, on the average, something less than $1,000.00 per month. He also received income from other real estate to which he held title. All living children of the marriage were older than 21 years of age at the time of the divorce.
Defendant testified that following the divorce he had attempted, and failed, to satisfy the mortgage provided for in the written stipulation and judgment. The apparent reason for his failure was the asserted in-severability of the encumbrance on the Hol-landale house from other collateral covered by various notes, mortgages and renewals granted Barneveld State Bank. Ultimately, the Bank pursued the foreclosure of its mortgage on the Hollandale house. Mrs. Chambers settled that action, as to herself, by the payment of $3,500.00. She incurred legal fees in connection with the foreclosure of approximately $2,700.00.
Defendant filed a chapter 7 petition in this court in August 1981. He was then unemployed. Plaintiff has filed a complaint seeking to deny the defendant a discharge of his debt to her under the divorce judgment for payments and costs of the foreclosure action, grounding the complaint on 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(5). 1
Section 523(a)(5)
of
the Bankruptcy Code excepts from discharge debts to a former spouse “for support of such spouse ... in connection with a separation agreement, divorce decree, or property settlement agreement” except to the extent such debt includes a liability denominated support which is not actually in the nature of support. Thus, a debt for support may be included in a “property settlement,” and so long as the debt is actually for support, may fall under the § 523(a)(5) exception to discharge. The language of the statute on its face makes clear that the label of the state court order or agreement is irrelevant to the essentially federal law question of whether the debt is for support.
Vande Zande
v.
Vande Zande,
*45 In the present case, the nature of the property division in the divorce documents is strong evidence that the arrangement was intended for the partial support of plaintiff. Defendant received a farm and lumberyard, among other items, which, although encumbered, were sources of income for him. Plaintiff received the Hollandale house which was apparently of smaller value, but the source of regular rental income. That income according to her testimony was about $75.00 per month at the time of the divorce and is about $150.00 per month at present. It is significant that the plaintiff has at all times been impaired in her earning capacity since she has only a tenth-grade education and few economically valuable skills, and that she depends on rent from the Hollandale house.
Although federal and not state law is binding as to what is or is not an obligation for support, bankruptcy courts should be guided and informed by state law as to the nature and extent of support obligations.
In Re Calhoun,
The burden of proof in bankruptcy proceedings is on the party objecting to the discharge of a debt.
In Re Bailey,
Mrs. Chambers’ claim for attorney’s fees in the approximate amount of
*46
$2,700.00 is also nondischargeable. Ancillary obligations of this sort — incurred in a proceeding to enforce the primary obligation — “stand or fall (i.e. [are] dischargeable or nondischargeable) with the primary debt.”
In Re Sposa,
Upon the foregoing which constitutes my findings of fact and conclusions of law in this proceeding it is hereby
ORDERED that plaintiff may have judgment against defendant for $3,500.00 and actual attorney’s fees not to exceed $2,700.00 which judgment is a nondis-chargeable debt of defendant in this bankruptcy case.
Notes
. Section 523(a)(5) provides:
(a) A discharge under section 727, 1141, or 1328(b) of this title does not discharge an individual debtor from any debt—
(5) to a spouse, former spouse, or child of the debtor, for alimony to, maintenance for, or support of such spouse or child, in connection with a separation agreement, divorce decree, or property settlement agreement, but not to the extent that—
(A) such debt is assigned to another entity, voluntarily, by operation of law, or otherwise; or
(B) such debt includes a liability designated as alimony, maintenance, or support, unless such liability is actually in the nature of alimony, maintenance, or support.
. In
Bailey, supra,
this court adopted the reasoning of
In Re Warner,