In an adversary action filed by debtor's ex-wife, in which it was not clear from the parties' divorce decree what amount of an award to plaintiff was intended to be alimony, maintenance or support, the court determined, based on Brown v. Felsen, 442 U.S. 127 (1979), that it was not bound by the decree because the issue of non-dischargeability under § 17 of the Bankruptcy Act is a federal law question on which the court has exclusive jurisdiction. While characterization of certain debts under state law may be relevant to the dischargeability determination, such characterizations are not binding on the issue of dischargeability in bankruptcy. Although a clear state court record indicating that an award was intended as support would be both admissible and highly relevant, there was no such clear record in this case. The matter would therefore need to be tried in the bankruptcy court.