Peterson v. Peterson (Nebraska 2018)

Alimony shouldn’t be counted as income for child support during initial establishment. The district court entered a final divorce decree, which established child support and alimony. The father requested a new trial. The district court considered his arguments, one of which was to include the alimony award as part of the mother’s monthly income for child support. The district court agreed and entered an amended order. The father appealed the amended divorce decree citing a number of issues, but the appellate court affirmed the order. However, during its review, the appellate court found it was plain error to include the alimony as part of mother’s income. The court modified the amended order, going back to the income calculations in the initial divorce decree.