Edwards v. Edwards (Wyoming)

A trial court has wide discretion to determine a parent’s status as voluntarily underemployed. Absent an abuse of discretion, the decision won’t be overturned on appeal. The parents filed for divorce. They had four children. During their marriage, they owned a lawn care business. After their separation, the father closed the business and took a lower paying data entry job. He testified to the facts around his decision to close the business including difficult hours which would prevent him from seeing the children. The court calculated support based on his current income. The mother appealed, arguing the father was voluntarily underemployed. The Supreme Court upheld the decision. The Court noted that the father’s testimony showed the business was failing, the father took a new job so he could spend more time with his children, and that he couldn’t revive the business and parent four children.