Resources
Child Support Resource Library
Welcome to the YoungWilliams Child Support Resource Library. Search by keywords or use the filters to select categories of interest to you. Currently, our Library consists of academic and government research articles and reports from around the country, federal opinions, and case law from states in which our full service child support projects are located.
In re Easton (Tennessee 2020)
This appeal turns on the procedural differences between an action for dependency/neglect as opposed to an action for a paternity/visitation. The biological father of this child started this action by filing, pro se, a dependency/neglect petition in juvenile court, in which he clearly pled for custody of the child or alternatively, visitation without an obligation for support. After several hearings, the juvenile court entered an order naming the father the primary residential parent. The mother appealed to the circuit court, which has jurisdiction over appeals of dependency/neglect actions.
Olander v. McPhillips (Nebraska 2020)
A hearing transcript is required when there is an evidentiary hearing. The mother and father, who were not married, had a child. A court order established paternity and addressed child support and visitation. The father filed to modify the paternity order. After several hearings, the trial court modified several provisions of the order, including reducing the child support amount. The mother filed to vacate the modified order. The trial court indicated it would hold an evidentiary hearing on the child support issues. After the unreported hearing, the trial court denied the motion to vacate.
State v. Ian K. (Nebraska 2020)
The state is not authorized to bring a paternity action for a child who is not born out-of-wedlock. The mother and husband were married and had a child. Genetic testing later proved the husband wasn’t the child’s biological father. The State filed a petition to establish paternity for the biological father and effectively disestablish the husband’s paternity. The Juvenile Court order granted the State’s request. The husband appealed.
Van Fleet v. Guyette (Wyoming 2020)
A parent can’t disregard a statutory requirement then complain about its outcome. This matter came before the court on a modification of custody. With respect to child support, the court ordered both parents to file a financial affidavit. The mother filed hers along with supporting information. The father didn’t, and the court found him in contempt. The contempt order gave him an additional opportunity to file the affidavit. Otherwise, the mother was directed to file an affidavit of imputed income and allege his income.
People in Interest of S.C.
The section of Colorado statute which adopted the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA) gives parties the right to testify by phone. The state of Missouri asked the state of Colorado to establish paternity with respect to the minor child. The father lived in Colorado. The mother had an outstanding warrant for her arrest in Colorado. She declined to appear at the proceeding in person. The magistrate refused to hear telephone testimony and entered an order closing the case. The district court affirmed the order. The child support agency appealed. The appellate court issued an order to show case ordering the child support agency to show the order was a final, appealable order.
Ivory v. Albert (Mississippi 2020)
A child support obligation may be terminated due to a child’s clear and extreme actions. The father filed to end his support obligation to the child. He alleged the child would not see him and didn’t want a relationship with him. The trial court ended the support. The mother appealed. The appellate court reversed the decision, finding the trial court used the right standard but didn’t correctly apply the standard to the facts.
Lasu v. Lasu (Nebraska 2020)
A documented travel expense may qualify as a deviation from presumptive child support if it is in the child’s best interests. In this divorce case, the court awarded the mother primary physical custody of the child. The mother lived Nebraska, and the father in California. The district court calculated support and deviated from presumptive support for travel expenses. The father appealed the custody determination and argued the travel deviation should have been bigger.
In re Guha (Kansas 2020)
The determination of a parent’s income from a subchapter S corporation is fact specific. The court will consider the company’s earnings history, ownership share, and the parent’s control over distribution and retention of the net profits. In this high-income case, the father’s business was organized as a S Corporation. In this modification action, the trial court found his income included his salary, maintenance payments, and 70% of the company’s gross income. The father appealed this determination.
In re Goodpasture (Kansas 2020)
The trial court doesn’t necessarily lose jurisdiction to enforce a child support order when one parent moves from the state. The parents divorced, and the divorce decree ordered the father to pay support for their three children. The mother assigned her right to child support to the Kansas Department of Children and Families in 2018. The father moved to set aside the order arguing that the court no longer had personal and subject matter jurisdiction because the mother had moved from Kansas. The trial court denied the motion. The father appealed.
Abraham v. Abraham (Tennessee 2020)
A request for an upward deviation for extracurricular activities is discretionary. A parent must support the request with evidence of the expenses. This post-divorce action came before the court on several grounds. Specific to child support, the mother requested an upward deviation in child support for the children’s extracurricular activities. The trial court denied the request, stating that the mother failed to provide proof of the expenses. The mother appealed.
