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.
State v. Waldo (Tennessee 2016)
A parent must have the present ability to pay child support before he or she can be found in civil contempt for non-payment. The future ability to pay is not enough. The contempt order in this case also sentenced the parent to jail but suspended the sentence as long as the parent made a minimum child support payment. A suspended sentence for an action that may lead to a contempt finding in the future is not permissible.
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Harris v. Porter (Mississippi 2016)
A child’s decision to attend college may be a material change in circumstances that warrant modifying child support. By statute, additional expenses can be added to a support amount, such as college tuition. The father in this case claimed the obligation to pay for half his child’s college expenses would seriously affect his lifestyle; however, the court reviewed his documents and found he had the ability to assist.
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Thayer v. Thayer (Tennessee 2016)
The choice to work a lower paying job may mean the parent is voluntarily underemployed for purposes of child support. The parent’s decision must be reasonable in light of the obligation to support his or her child. The Court may consider these factors: past and present employment, education, training and ability to work, and other relevant factors. In this case, the Court found the father’s decision to leave a high paying job was not reasonable even though it found his testimony truthful.
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More Child Support Dollars to Kids-Using New State Flexibility in Child Support Pass-Through
The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) provides new state flexibility to pass through more child support dollars to children who currently receive or formerly received welfare. The federal government will pick up part of the cost if states exercise this new flexibility. These changes provide opportunities for states to devise new strategies to increase parental support for poor children and reduce poverty. In this policy brief, the authors discuss three reasons for states to consider these new opportunities. See also www.clasp.org.
Tollett v. State (Oklahoma 2016)
Nguyen v. Heller-Nguyen (North Carolina 2016)
Catalano v. Woodcock (Tennessee 2016)
In re Adoption of Jaelyn B., Jesse B. v. Tylee H. (Nebraska 2016)
A Nebraska court must give full faith and credit to a valid paternity determination from another state and apply the law of that state when making decisions about the parent’s rights. In this case, a lower court improperly allowed the adoption of child without notice to the legal father, whose paternity had been established through a paternity acknowledgment in the state of Ohio and who, under Ohio law, had the right to notice of the proceeding. In a companion case, Jesse B. v. Tylee H., 293 Neb. 973 (2016), the Court declined to address an argument about the constitutionality of the Nebraska adoption statutes and again found that a valid paternity determination must be given full faith and credit.
