Killinger v. Killinger (Nebraska 2019)
When a parent has a variable income, it is appropriate to use a three-year average to set child support. The father and mother, who had three children, filed for divorce. The father owned his own business, and his income fluctuated from yearly. At trial, he presented evidence of his income from the previous seven years.…
Read MorePope v. Fountain (Mississippi 2019)
In a paternity proceeding, all necessary parties must be joined. The child who was the subject of this case had a presumed and biological father. The biological father filed to establish paternity, and the mother responded. The presumptive father was not joined as a party to the action even though he was ordered to pay…
Read MoreParsons v. Parsons (Tennessee 2019)
A parent must properly plead for a modification otherwise it shouldn’t be considered during a court proceeding. In this post-divorce action, the mother filed for contempt and breach of contract against the father. In their marital dissolution agreement (MDA), the mother was to receive a portion of the father’s supplemental federal retirement benefit. When a…
Read MoreHodgen v. Hodgen (Nebraska 2019)
A child support abatement will be granted when the parent meets the criteria in the decree. The parents divorced, and the decree contained a provision that allowed the father to abate his child support during June, July, and August as long as he had the children for visitation 28 days or more during the summer.…
Read MorePoole v. Kinslow (Tennessee 2019)
If a court finds a parent voluntarily underemployed, it may use the parent’s earning capacity to calculate child support. In this divorce action, the trial court calculated support using the father’s earning capacity. He was self-employed at the time of trial, but he had earned no income. The father appealed. The court of appeals affirmed.
Read MoreHart v. Hart (North Carolina 2019)
Failing to include a corrected support order with a packet for registration is procedural, not jurisdictional, and doesn’t necessarily bar a court from modifying the support order. The parents divorced in Washington, and the father was ordered to pay support. The support order was amended twice, once to reflect the mother and children’s move to…
Read MoreSensing v. Sensing (Tennessee 2019)
The parent requesting the child support modification bears the burden of proving a significant variance exists between the existing support amount and the amount based on the parent’s current income. The father filed to modify his child support, and the court denied his petition. He appealed on the basis that the court improperly imputed capital…
Read MoreFireoved v. Fireoved (Kansas 2019)
The application of the multi-family credit is discretionary. When calculating support, the costs of the child’s health insurance and reasonable costs of child care are added to the gross child support obligation. The district court has discretion to determine the reasonableness. The mother had primary residential custody of the parties’ child. She notified the father…
Read MoreState v. McKee (Kansas 2019)
A prior conviction of nonpayment of child support may not be used to prove the element of intent in a subsequent proceeding. The father was convicted of nonpayment of support in 2003. He was charged on a separate count in 2012. Before the trial began, the state filed a motion to admit the conviction into…
Read MoreIn re N.J.C. (Colorado 2019)
Deferred compensation isn’t income for child support when a parent doesn’t have the ability to use the money to pay expenses. The mother and father were unmarried and had a child. The father, a doctor, took a new job, and the mother filed to modify child support. The father’s income consisted of a base salary…
Read MoreUnger v. Unger (North Carolina 2019)
Criminal contempt for child support is appropriate when the contempt addresses past violations of a child support order. The inclusion of a purge provision doesn’t change the contempt to civil. The father failed to make child support payments, and in 2012, the mother filed for contempt. The parents reached an agreement, which was captured in…
Read MoreIn re Thrailkill (Kansas 2019)
Military retirement benefits are income for child support. The mother filed for divorce. Both parents were retired military. The father was career military and was currently receiving retirement and disability benefits. The mother hadn’t served as long, so she wasn’t eligible for her retirement pay until age 60. The district court equally divided the retirement…
Read MoreSchwager v. Messer (Tennessee 2019)
The start date for a modified child support amount is the date that the action as filed. The parents divorced, and in the decree agreed to a downward deviation of support for two years. At that time, they would exchange financial information and recalculate support. Six years later, the mother filed to modify the child…
Read MoreSpencer Diaz v. Department of Human Services, State of Mississippi and Lora M. Ledet
A technical error will not render a paternity acknowledgement void. When the mother and father met, the mother was already pregnant. The father signed a paternity acknowledgement several months after the child’s birth. Several years later, the parents separated, and the state of Mississippi filed to establish support. The father filed to disestablish paternity, claiming…
Read MoreState of Tennessee ex rel. Haynes v. Daugherty
In a contempt proceeding, a court may not impose a cash-only bond. This violates the parent’s constitutional right to pretrial release, equal protection, and due process. In this contempt case, contempt was filed against the father for failure to pay child support, and the trial court set a cash-only bond. The court set bond as…
Read MoreWatkins v. Benjamin (North Carolina 2019)
For purposes of UIFSA jurisdiction, a new child support order isn’t established because the obligor of the order changes. The parents divorced in North Carolina, and the order granted custody to the father and ordered the mother to pay support. The mother moved to Maryland and the children eventually came to live with her. The…
Read MoreIn re LaForest (Kansas 2019)
An award of attorney fees cannot be offset against child support. A mother and father filed for divorce. The divorce dragged on, and eventually, the mother obtained a default divorce. The father filed to set aside the default order and asked for the attorney fees incurred to prepare the motion. The district court awarded him…
Read MoreHerrin v. Perkins (Mississippi 2019)
A parent should object to the sufficiency of a contempt pleading at trial. The father and mother agreed to visitation and amounts for current and back child support for their child and a judgment for the mother’s attorney fees. A year later, the mother filed a contempt petition. The petition included the amounts due for…
Read MoreIn re Moler (Kansas 2019)
A Kansas Court didn’t have jurisdiction to modify the definition of income contained in a settlement agreement. The father was a high earner. When the parents divorced, they agreed to a base amount of child support, calculated pursuant to the guidelines, plus a supplemental amount if the father earned over $275,000. For the supplemental support…
Read MoreKnell v. Knell (Wyoming 2019)
The federal Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA) limits the amount that can be garnished from a person’s disposable income. A child support order meets the CCPA definition of a garnishment. The parents in this case divorced, and the order set support and entered a judgment against the father for the amount agreed to in the…
Read MoreFichtel v. Zirwas (Tennessee 2019)
A bonus payment, structured to benefit a business, may not be income for child support. Depreciation is not necessarily deductible for child support income. The mother, a doctor, filed a petition to relocate the children to Ohio. She had remarried and taken a job with a much lower income. The trial court denied her petition…
Read MoreNeely v. Neely (Tennessee 2019)
A contempt finding has four elements, one of which is a finding that the parent willfully didn’t pay the child support order. A contempt order must specifically address each element. After a series of motions, the chancery court entered an order finding the father in contempt for failure to pay support. The father appealed, arguing…
Read MoreRiegl v. Lemond (Nebraska 2019)
The Nebraska Child Support Guidelines allow a court to consider a parent’s earning capacity when setting income for child support. The parents filed for divorce. The father, a union electrician, was ordered to pay temporary support. The court set the amount based on the father’s self-reported hourly wage. At the divorce trial, the court heard…
Read MoreDooling v. Dooling (Nebraska 2019)
This appeal addresses a case where the district court made multiple errors in calculating child support. The parents filed for divorce, and the district court set child support for their three children. The father appealed the order, making various arguments about the child support calculation. The mother cross-appealed, arguing the court failed to address the…
Read MoreIn re Whildin (Kansas 2019)
A settlement agreement term that imputes minimum income to a parent for a future modification of child support may be against public policy. As part of a divorce settlement agreement, the parents stipulated that for any future child support modification, the father’s income would be $75,000 or his adjusted gross income, whichever was greater. The…
Read MoreKennedy v. Kennedy (Nebraska 2019)
A parent who requests a modification of child support must show a material change in circumstances occurred after the entry of the original decree and that wasn’t contemplated when the decree was entered. A lower income isn’t necessarily a change if the parent’s choices led to the reduction. The state of Nebraska filed to modify…
Read MoreMarriage of Alvis (Colorado 2019)
The child support guidelines account for the first $250 of unreimbursed medical expenses. Neither party can be ordered to pay this amount. The parents’ divorce decree ordered shared custody of three children and set support accordingly. Under the guideline calculation, the father paid his share to the mother. A few years later, the father filed…
Read MoreState v. Jarvel (Nebraska 2019)
A nonsupporting party is the necessary party in a proceeding for child and medical support. A parent who appears at a hearing waives a claim to defective service. The state of Nebraska filed a complaint against the father to establish paternity and support. At the initial hearing, the father requested a continuance. He then failed…
Read MoreMartin v. Borries (Mississippi 2019)
A voluntary reduction in income is not a substantial change of circumstances for a modification of child support. A change must be unforeseen. At the time of the parents’ divorce, the father worked overseas and earned a substantial amount of money. After the divorce, his job ended, and he moved back to Mississippi and found…
Read MoreState of Kansas v. Manson (Kansas 2019)
A voluntary acknowledgement of paternity must be revoked before the child turns one otherwise the parent-child relationship is permanent. The state of Kansas filed to establish support against the father for the benefit of a two-year-old child. The father had signed a voluntary acknowledgement at the child’s birth. At the hearing, he produced genetic test…
Read MoreAlexander v. Alexander (Tennessee 2019)
A judgment for child support arrears, which is based on a child support amount different from that shown on the child support worksheet of record, is void. In their divorce, the parents agreed to no child support. In return, the mother was to contribute to a college fund for their children. The trial court adopted…
Read MoreMiller v. Miller (Nebraska 2019)
A child support modification may be denied if the parent’s reduction in income is due to the parent’s own poor financial decisions. The father filed to modify his child support based on a reduction in income. The district court denied the modification, and the father appealed. The appellate court upheld the decision. It found the…
Read MoreThomas v. Thomas (Mississippi 2019)
A parent is entitled to credit against monthly child support for Social Security benefits paid to a child because of a parent’s disability. The parent is also entitled to credit against arrears for a lump sum received after the arrears have accrued. The mother and father filed for divorce. To calculate support, the court determined…
Read MoreScot v. Scot (Tennessee 2019)
Income for a modification of child support must be based on a parent’s most recent actual income. A father filed to change custody and modify child support accordingly. During the hearing, he testified as to his earnings in 2017 and to what he might earn in 2018. The court calculated child support using his prospective…
Read MoreIn re Makinna B. (Tennessee 2019)
A parent must provide evidence of the cost of work-related childcare in order to get credit for it in a child support calculation. The mother and father had one child, and the mother was the primary residential parent. A few months after entry of the initial order, the father filed for modification, requesting custody of…
Read MoreIn re M.F. (Kansas 2019)
For an oral parenting contract to be enforceable, the parent must show a meeting of the minds on all essential elements. K.L. and T.F., same-sex partners, were in a long-term relationship. T.F. gave birth to M.F. using artificial insemination. The women had no written parenting agreement. They later separated, and K.L. filed a parentage petition.…
Read MoreMSC v. MCG (Wyoming 2019)
The argument contained in a motion should support the requested relief. The father filed a “Motion for Relief from a Child Support Order.” He requested relief from an income withholding order, but the body of his motion asked the court to set aside the underlying support order. The father argued the Wyoming Child Support Guidelines…
Read MoreMitra v. Irigreddy (Tennessee 2019)
Child support arrears should be paid in a timely manner. The court has discretion to craft an appropriate repayment plan. The parents divorced in Texas. The mother was awarded custody of their daughter. Both parents moved frequently, within the United States and to India in the following years, and visitation was an issue. At one…
Read MoreOswald v. Oswald (Nebraska 2019)
A modification request may be denied when the parent has voluntarily resigned from a job. The father filed to modify his support obligation. The father had resigned from a high paying sales job when the company restructured his compensation plan and was working at a job that paid significantly less. After hearing, the district court…
Read MoreSchimpf v. Hardy (Mississippi 2019)
A non-custodial parent should receive credit for child support paid pursuant to an interim order. By a decree of divorce, the mother was granted custody of two children, and the father was ordered to pay support. The father filed to modify custody and support and for contempt. The mother answered and filed a counterclaim. An…
Read MoreTooker v. Tooker (Colorado 2019)
Non-discretionary educational benefits, such as tuition assistance and a book stipend, are not income for child support. The value of potential income is not necessarily income for child support. The mother filed to modify the father’s child support obligation. The father, a veteran, was receiving tuition assistance and a book stipend from the Post-9/11 Veterans…
Read MoreCarman v. Harris (Kansas 2019)
A parent’s income for child support can be adjusted for specific factors. On appeal, the application of an adjustment is reviewed for an abuse of the court’s discretion. The mother filed to modify child support, among other terms of an initial custody and support order. The district court modified the support based on the parents’…
Read MoreState v. Julio G. (Nebraska 2019)
In Nebraska, an indigent parent is entitled to court-appointed counsel in paternity cases. The state of Nebraska filed a support action against the father and attached an acknowledgment of paternity. The father challenged the acknowledgment. He testified that he spoke no English, read no English, and did not understand what he was signing. The court…
Read MoreLemus v. Martinez (Wyoming 2019)
Sufficient information must support a determination of income. The parents were never married. They had two children. The parents separated, and the father filed for custody and support. Prior to hearing, the father filed an incomplete financial affidavit and two partial personal tax returns. Testimony during the hearing showed he had wages from a job…
Read MoreIn re Interest of Cayden R. (Nebraska 2019)
Having children in foster care is not a rebuttable presumption under the child support guidelines. A statute allows for minimum support in low income cases. A juvenile court support order required the mother to pay $50 per month child support while her five children were in foster care. Guideline support was $0, but the referee…
Read MoreIn re Aragon (Colorado 2019)
A worker’s compensation lump sum is income for child support. To factor the lump sum into the parent’s income, divide the lump sum payment by the number of weeks the parent didn’t work. The parents, who have five children, filed for divorce. The father received a lump sum workers’ compensation payment due to a work-related…
Read MoreDowding v. Dowding (Nebraska 2019)
A signed and notarized paternity acknowledgement is a legal finding, which can only be challenged on the basis of fraud, duress, or material mistake of fact. A challenge to an acknowledgment must be properly before the court. The parents had a child, and the father signed a paternity acknowledgement immediately after his birth. Several years…
Read MorePearrow v. Pearrow (Nebraska 2019)
The district court has flexibility to craft an appropriate support amount when parents have an unusual custody arrangement. The worksheet must still accompany the order so the appellate court can properly review an order. The parents divorced and agreed to joint physical and legal custody of the children. A year later, the mother filed to…
Read MoreEwing v. Evans (Nebraska 2019)
To modify a child support order, a change in circumstances must occur after the entry of the original order. A parent who shows a change of 10 percent or more in the support, which amounts to at least $25, creates a rebuttable presumption that the order should be modified. Shortly before the parents’ divorce was…
Read MoreThomas v. Burgett (North Carolina 2019)
Rent payments are income for child support, but the parent may deduct insurance and property tax attributable to the rental property. The court must complete a four-step analysis before deviating from the guidelines. The parents filed for divorce. They had one child. At the time of divorce, the father was retired and received social security.…
Read MoreOrange County, ex rel., Lacy v. Canup (North Carolina 2019)
The definition of income may include the value of rent when a parent is living rent-free. The parents were not married and had one child. The father acknowledged paternity when the child was born. The child support agency filed an application for order to show case as to why a support order should not be…
Read MoreRosberg 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…
Read MoreTroester 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…
Read MoreIn 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…
Read MoreState 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…
Read MoreYoung 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…
Read MoreGunter 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…
Read MoreStockdale 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…
Read MoreIn re ACH (Colorado 2019)
An established psychological parent, who has sought and obtained an allocation of parental responsibilities, can be ordered to pay child support. In this case, the mother had a child from a previous relationship. The mother and father had their own child. The mother and father separated and shared equal parenting time with both children. In…
Read MoreState v. Graham (Kansas 2019)
A parent who pleads guilty to criminal nonsupport cannot appeal the conviction without first filing a motion to withdraw the plea. In 2008, the father was charged with two counts of criminal nonsupport of a child. The father entered into a deferred prosecution agreement. In exchange for pleading guilty, the court stayed acceptance of the…
Read MoreVandenbook v. Vandenbrook (Mississippi 2019)
If a parent’s adjusted gross income exceeds $100,000, the court must make findings to support applying the guidelines. The father appealed the award of child support in the final divorce decree. The father earned more than $100,000 annually through a combination of salary, bonuses, and the exercise of stock options. To determine his adjusted gross…
Read MoreKaelter v. Sokol (Kansas 2019)
An order requiring a response to post-judgment discovery requests is not a final decision for purposes of appeal. The collateral order doctrine also doesn’t apply. The mother sent the father post-judgment discovery to determine his income and assets to aid in collecting child support arrears. The father didn’t answer the discovery, and the mother requested…
Read MoreWatauga County v. Shell (North Carolina 2019)
A child support action doesn’t need to be stayed pending an appeal in a custody case. The mother and father were parties to a child custody case filed by their children’s paternal grandparents in Watauga County, North Carolina. While the final order from the custody case was on appeal, the Avery County child support program…
Read MoreSimms v. Bolger (North Carolina 2019)
A lump sum payment is properly considered non-recurring income for child support, doesn’t necessarily require a deviation from the guidelines, and evidence is needed to show that making such a payment will impact future income. The father filed to modify his child support obligation. When support was established, the father’s income was a weekly workers’…
Read MoreState of Nebraska on behalf of Walter E. v. Mark E. (Nebraska 2019)
The existence of a juvenile court child support order divests the district court of jurisdiction to enter a second order. The State of Nebraska filed a petition in juvenile court for custody and placement of a child. The decree ordered the State to pay for all placement costs not covered by the parents’ insurance. The…
Read MoreWelch v. Peery (Nebraska 2019)
Any modification of child support or waiver must be in the child’s best interest. The mother in this case filed a petition for permission to move out of state, and the father opposed it. The mother testified she was willing to waive support so that the father could have additional money for travel. In the…
Read MoreColumbus County DSS ex rel. Moore v. Norton (North Carolina 2019)
A court should consider a parent’s income and assets to decide if the parent has the present ability to pay child support. The father appealed the court’s order finding him in contempt for failure to pay support. The trial court found evidence that he had the ability to pay support. He had income, he recently…
Read MoreWilkinson v. Wilkinson (Mississippi 2019)
A prima facie case for contempt in a child support case is made once a parent entitled to support shows the other parent has not paid. Then, the burden of proof shifts to the paying parent to defend the nonpayment. The parents divorced, and support was set in the decree. They reconciled for a period…
Read MoreBreining-Pruitt v. Westfahl (Nebraska 2019)
When calculating income for child support, a parent’s earning capacity can be used instead of their actual income. Earning capacity is determined from work history, education, occupational skills, and job opportunities. The father appealed a district court order which set child support. He argued the district court didn’t properly calculate the mother’s income. Testimony showed…
Read MoreHall v. Hall (Nebraska 2019)
A parent must provide specific evidence of income for child support but it can come from several sources. The mother filed a motion to modify custody and support. The district court denied the modification of custody and increased mother’s child support. It found mother’s income had increased and credited her with a fewer number of…
Read MorePruitt v. Pruitt (Tennessee 2019)
In order for a judgment to be set aside under Rule 60.02, there must be a material mistake of fact. A father who knows he is not a child’s biological parent, yet signs a paternity affidavit and agrees to pay child support in a divorce, is not operating under a mistake of fact. In this…
Read MoreJones v. Jones (Mississippi 2019)
A parent cannot be found in contempt for failure to pay support and found to have overpaid child support at the same time. The parties divorced in 2006, and while a wage withholding was entered, it was never issued. The father paid support directly to the mother, twice a month. In 2009, a modified wage…
Read MoreState of Tennessee ex rel. Moore v. Oden (Tennessee 2019)
If a judgment is missing from a record, it can be added later nunc pro tunc as long as the evidence supports that it was properly announced and not entered due to a clerical error. The parents in this case were never married and had one child. An initial support order was set in February…
Read MoreMcCall v. McCall (Mississippi 2019)
When divorcing parents agree a property settlement, including child support, the court will treat the settlement like any other contract. The parents in this case filed for divorce and signed a property settlement, in which they agreed to the amount of monthly child support and a lump sum child support payment. Subsequently, the father filed…
Read MoreBeck v. Beck (Nebraska 2019)
To modify a child support order, a parent must show a substantial change of circumstances which occurred after entry of the most recent order and wasn’t contemplated when the order was entered. A change is a parent’s financial situation can qualify. The mother filed to modify the child support provision of the original divorce decree.…
Read MoreBryson L. v. Izabella L. (Nebraska 2019)
The appellate court only has jurisdiction over timely-filed appeals. The mother and father divorced in November 2016, and the father was awarded custody of the child. In September 2017, an alleged father filed to intervene in the divorce action, stating he was the child’s biological father. The district court denied his motion. The alleged father…
Read MoreState of Tennessee ex rel. Groesse v. Sumner (Tennessee 2019)
For a contempt finding in a child support case, the parent must willfully not pay the support despite having the ability to pay. The father appealed a finding of contempt against him. The grounds on appeal included: whether the court applied the proper evidentiary standard, the appropriateness of a de novo rehearing, whether the presentation…
Read MoreWilliams v. Williams (Mississippi 2019)
The Court may impute income to a parent for child support purposes when the parent’s reported income is clearly inadequate to support his or her lifestyle. In this case, the parents filed for divorce in 2013. The parents had three children, but only one was still a minor. With regards to child support, the mother…
Read MoreServatius v. Ryals (North Carolina 2018)
Evidence must support a contempt finding, and the order must then contain the specific findings. The mother filed a motion for order to show cause, alleging that the father had failed to pay support. The court issued the order and ordered the father to appear. After hearing, the trial court declined to hold father in…
Read MoreGyger v. Clement (North Carolina 2018)
When registering an order sent from a foreign reciprocating country, notice of a pending hearing is properly sent to the agency that initiated the action. Switzerland requested that North Carolina register a support order. The trial court didn’t register the order. It found that the notice provided to the father of the initial hearing didn’t…
Read MoreHubbard v. Ratliff (Mississippi 2018)
A child who enters the military is considered emancipated and child support stops. In this case, the mother filed a contempt action that alleged the father failed to pay support and to comply with other provisions of the divorce decree. The father counter-petitioned and asserted that the child had emancipated in the spring of 2016.…
Read MorePeterson 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…
Read MoreState v. McColery (Nebraska 2018)
Appearance bond funds held by a clerk of court are not personal property registered with a county office for purposes of the child support lien statute. An automatic lien does not attach to these funds. A father, who owed child support arrears, was arrested for strangulation. He posted an appearance bond. He hired private counsel…
Read MoreIn re Marriage Heine (Colorado 2018)
When parents voluntarily agree to a change in custody, the statute allows support to be modified back to the date of the change. A court has discretion to terminate or modify support for the obligor and establish support for the new obligor. The parents in this case voluntarily changed custody of their children several times.…
Read MoreMartin v. Hart (Wyoming 2018)
A child support order must state the amount of presumptive support. If the court deviates from the presumptive amount, it must give specific reasons. The father filed to establish paternity, custody, and visitation of the child. In the final order, the court stated it was deviating from presumptive support without giving a presumptive amount. The…
Read MoreBruton v. Bruton (Mississippi 2018)
If a child support award is above the guideline amount, the Court must justify the award. In his case, the original divorce decree required the father to pay support plus day care and 60 percent of the children’s private school tuition and fees. Two years later, the father filed for a modification. The modified order…
Read MorePettersen v. Pettersen (Mississippi 2018)
The court has discretion to set support for the time period before a divorce is filed. If support is set, it can only go back to one year before the filing of the action. The parents in this case filed for divorce. They had three children, two of whom were emancipated, and one who was…
Read MoreOsborn v. Anderson (Kansas 2018)
An annulment order doesn’t revoke a paternity acknowledgment without language to that effect. In this case, the father signed a paternity affidavit knowing that he wasn’t the child’s biological father. The father and mother married, but ended their marriage with a judicial annulment. The annulment order stated no children were born of the marriage. The…
Read MoreKendle v. Kendle (Tennessee 2018)
When determining if it can honor a garnishment notice, an employer has no obligation to consider any garnishments already in place with another employer. The father in this case had two employers. His wages from his primary employer were being garnished when the mother served a garnishment on his secondary employer for fees incurred due…
Read MoreMillen v. Hatter (Tennessee 2018)
The Tennessee Department of Human Services (TDHS) issued an administrative order to garnish the father’s bank account for unpaid child support. In response, the father filed a document titled “Opening Complaint Asking for Injunctive Relief and Restitution for Kevin ‘The King’ Millen.” He served the bank and the TDHS Commissioner. TDHS filed a motion to…
Read MoreCounty of Durham v. Burnette (North Carolina 2018)
Evidence of a parent’s willful refusal to pay a child support order and ability to pay purge conditions must support a contempt order. The father had two child support orders, and the County of Durham initiated contempt proceedings on both orders. The court found him in contempt for failure to pay on both orders and…
Read MoreGordon v. Gordon (Tennessee 2018)
Deviations from presumptive child support must be supported by specific reasons. In this case, the parents agreed to an upward deviation in child support in the initial support order. The deviation was for “the needs of the family, equity of the parties, and best interest of the minor children.” Later, the mother filed a petition…
Read MoreHill v. Hill (North Carolina 2018)
A trial court must be clear about its process in imputing income. The father appealed the court order that denied his request for a modification of child support and found him in contempt. The father was terminated from his high-income job and requested a modification in support. The father was unemployed for almost four years…
Read MoreCrews v. Paysour (North Carolina 2018)
On remand, a trial court may consider new evidence in a child support hearing. If it doesn’t, the findings of fact and conclusions of law in the order must be based on the existing record. The appellate court remanded the initial order in this case for further findings. During the hearing on remand, the trial…
Read MoreBurgess v. Williamson (Mississippi 2018)
A parent cannot challenge the court’s jurisdiction over an initial order in subsequent proceedings. The father, the custodial parent, filed a motion to hold mother in contempt for failure to pay support. The mother filed a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction. The Chancery Court denied the motion and entered an order finding mother…
Read MoreHotz v. Hotz (Nebraska 2018)
The Nebraska child support guidelines exclude alimony from the definition of income for child support purposes. The father appealed a district court order that modified the mother’s support obligation to him and granted her other requested relief. The father argued that his alimony obligation should have counted as income to the mother and that depreciation…
Read MoreClark v. Clark (Nebraska 2018)
The Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA) gives a court with proper subject matter and personal jurisdiction the ability to determine a controlling child support order. The father in this case was subject to two child support orders, one from Wisconsin and one from Nebraska. He filed a petition requesting a Nebraska district court vacate…
Read MoreIn re Marriage of Dean (Kansas 2018)
Courts must follow the definition of income found in the guidelines. The mother appealed the district court’s calculation of the father’s gross income. The district court subtracted the amounts the father was paying towards mortgages from his gross monthly income. The Appellate Court reversed the decision. The definition of income is purposefully broad, and the…
Read MoreReid v. Reid (Tennessee 2018)
In order to find a parent underemployed for child support purposes, the court must apply a list of factors. A parent who inflates expenses while downplaying income isn’t necessarily underemployed as defined by statute. The father filed a petition to modify his child support, and the mother responded with a counter-petition for modification of custody…
Read MoreContreras v. Contreras (Tennessee 2018)
A parent who fails to provide insurance as ordered may be liable to reimburse the other parent for the costs of premiums. The father appealed a district court order that ruled against the him on a variety of issues. The order entered judgments against him for arrears and for the cost of medical support premiums…
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