In re Yocky (Kansas 2021)

The Kansas Supreme Court has broad authority to promulgate the child support guidelines. The Kansas Supreme Court has statutory authority to establish child support guidelines. The guidelines require a parent to notify the other parent of any change in income which might be a substantial change of circumstances. The rules provide for sanctions for a failure to report. The mother requested a review of the support obligation. The father’s income had increased substantially since entry of the initial order and he failed to notify the mother. The court granted the mother’s request for sanctions, and the father appealed. The court of appeals declined to set aside the sanctions order. The father didn’t dispute his failure to report. He argued the Supreme Court was without authority to promulgate the rules at issue. According to the father, the Supreme Court violated the separation of powers doctrine. He argued the statute gave the Supreme Court limited authority to determine the formula for calculating support. The appellate court rejected this reading of the statute as too narrow. The statute gave the Court the ability to consider all factors when adopting the rules. Reporting income changes and a remedy for the failure to report fell within the grant of rulemaking authority.