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.
Rosberg v. Rosberg (Nebraska 2019)
Under certain circumstances, a court may analyze a parent’s historical earnings and ability to support a family to set income for child supoprt. The parents in this case filed for divorce. The parents had six children together, in addition to children from other relationships. The father owned Rosberg Farms, but had also been incarcerated in federal prison. The district court found income for the father hard to determine. The district court used tax returns provided by the mother and testimony about the father’s business dealings and expenditures to set his income at $10,000 per month. The child support award was $2,453 for five children. The father appealed the order on various grounds, including the determination of his income. The court of appeals affirmed the child support award. The evidence showed the father had made millions of dollars in deposits in a bank account from 2011 – 2016 while showing little income. He also had been paying out large sums of money regularly to support his family.
Troester v. Troester (Nebraska 2019)
A parent who seeks a modification of child support must show a substantial change of circumstances that happened after the entry of the order. In this case, the parents filed for divorce and stipulated to child support in a settlement agreement. The father farmed and sold corn seed at the time of the divorce. Several years later, he petitioned to modify his support obligation based on a drop in his income. He argued his income had decreased due to low grain prices. The trial court found no substantial change of circumstances to justify a modification. The court found that the father, a career farmer, reasonably knew that grain prices could drop at any time and still agreed to the amount of support. The father appealed. The appellate court upheld the trial court’s decision. The appellate court found no evidence to support a substantial change. It also found that the father was choosing to support his new family instead of making child support payments.
Building Connections: Using Integrated Administrative Data to Identify Issues and Solutions Spanning the Child Welfare and Child Support Systems
This article explores the process one state used to change policy using data. The state of Wisconsin used data to inform its policy change regarding referrals to child support in foster care cases. The results of the analysis of this data led to both the child welfare and the child support divisions working together on the new policy, a partnership that benefits both policy and practice.
In the Matter of W.L. and G.L. (Kansas 2019)
To prove parentage, an unmarried person must first show a presumption of parentage by a preponderance of the evidence. The burden then shifts to the responding parent to rebut the presumption by clear and convincing evidence. This case involves parentage for twins born to same-sex partners using artificial reproduction. The partners never married or entered into any agreement regarding parentage for the children. After the partners separated, the petitioner filed to establish parentage. The district court denied the petition, finding that the respondent rebutted the presumption of paternity. The petitioner appealed. When a child is born to unmarried parents using assisted reproduction, the Kansas statutes specify the procedure for establishing parentage with a written agreement. However, the partners had not followed this procedure, so the petitioner had to argue that a presumption applied. The appellate court upheld the district court’s decision. It found the respondent presented evidence rebutting the presumption that the petitioner held herself out as the children’s parent. The evidence showed that the petitioner was not fully committed to being a parent.
State v. Savage (Kansas 2019)
Once a probation violation is proved, a court has discretion to impose the underlying sentence or modify the terms and conditions. Probation for a defendant convicted of criminal nonpayment of child support can be extended for as long as the child support restitution amount has not been fully paid. In 2000, the defendant pled guilty to criminal nonpayment of child support. His sentence was stayed, provided that he pay child support. Eventually, the stay was revoked, and he was placed on probation. The probation terms included paying current support and arrears. Over the years, the father would stop making payments, and the state would file to revoke his probation. At the most recent hearing in 2017, the defendant argued his probation should be dismissed based on the payments he had made and the fact his son was now over 18. The court disagreed and extended it another 24 months. The defendant appealed. The court of appeals upheld the extension. It found that the district court has discretion to release or modify probation terms once a violation has been proved. The father didn’t contest the violation, only the extension. The court of appealed found the extension reasonable in light of the facts of this case.
Young v. Air Masters Mechanical Inc. (Mississippi 2019)
Overruled by Young v. Air Masters Mechanical Inc., 2020 Miss LEXIS 96 (2020).
A child support lien is valid even if the children have been subsequently adopted. The father and mother were married and had two children. They divorced, and the father was ordered to pay support. The mother remarried, and her new husband adopted the children. As part of the adoption, the father terminated his parental rights, and his current support obligation stopped. However, he owed arrears. The father later died in a workplace accident. The mother provided the Workers’ Compensation Commission with proper notice of the unpaid support. After a hearing, the full Commission found that the lien was not valid due to the adoption. The mother appealed. The court of appeals found the Commission had no authority to invalidate the lien. The support accrued before the children’s adoption, and the mother had the right to enforce it. It reversed the decision and remanded for a determination regarding a child support lien as a benefit payable under the death benefits statute.
Independent Contractors and Nontraditional Workers: Implications for the Child Support Program
An increasing number of parents are employed in non-traditional jobs where income withholding is not available. This article identifies issues for the child support program with the “gig economy.” The research yielded three key findings: the larger number of parents employed in this manner means less consistent child support payments, automated enforcement tools have limited use for collecting support, and outreach to the parents and the employers may be the most effective way of collecting support.
Gunter v. Gunter (Mississippi 2019)
Courts may depart from the child support guideline amount but must make specific findings to support the departure. The final decree of divorce in this case ordered the father to pay guideline child support, plus half of the children’s private school tuition, daycare expenses, and unreimbursed medical costs. The father appealed, arguing this was an impermissible deviation from the guidelines. The court of appeals found the chancery court was within its discretion regarding the daycare and medical expenses. The court of appealed reversed the tuition award. Mississippi law treats private school tuition as part of child support and requires specific findings if tuition is awarded in addition to guideline child support. The appellate court found the order lacked the required findings and remanded it.
Start Smart: Using Behavioral Strategies to Increase Initial Child Support Payments in Texas
As a recipient of the Behavioral Interventions for Child Support Services (BICS) grant, the Texas Office of the Attorney General implemented a project designed to increase the number of child support payments made during the first three months after order entry. For most cases, it takes about this amount of time for income withholding to take effect. The research team identified behavioral bottlenecks in the current process. Behavioral bottlenecks are the points where parents and employees may face psychological and behavioral propensities that get in the way of the parent making a payment. Then, the team put in place an intervention based on behavioral science to address the bottlenecks. The report addresses the specific intervention and the outcomes.
Stockdale v. Rehal (Nebraska 2019)
A district court has discretion to retroactively adjust a temporary child support obligation. The never-married parents in this case separated, and a temporary child support obligation was established. For the final order, the court set the father’s income at an amount higher than the amount used for the temporary order, which increased the amount of child support. The court declined to modify the order retroactive to the date of the temporary order. The father appealed the income calculation, and the mother cross-appealed on the issue of retroactivity. The appellate court found no abuse of discretion in the court’s determination of the father’s income. The appellate court also found no abuse of discretion in the decision not to retroactively increase the temporary amount. Temporary child support orders are not appealable until the appeal from the final order. The mother argued that she had presented evidence to the court at the time of the temporary hearing that supported the higher income amount. The court’s adoption of the higher income figure for the final ordrder confirmed her position during the temporary hearing and the temporary amount should be modified accordingly. The appellate court found the lower amount was reasonable for the temporary award based on the available evidence at that time.
