Hornsby v. Hornsby (Mississippi 2022)
A parent requesting a modification based on a reduction in income must show a corresponding change in his or her lifestyle. The father, a self-employed lawyer, requested a modification of child support. The chancery court denied his request. The father appealed. The appellate court affirmed. The father argued the chancery court improperly granted a motion in limine that excluded relevant evidence. However, the father made no proffer of evidence during the trial and, on appeal, failed to specify any specific evidence that was excluded.
Read MoreBerens v. Berens (North Carolina 2022)
The prohibition again retroactive modifications of support only applies to past due support. This divorce proceeding, specifically the setting of child support, in this case was prolonged. The father filed to modify the child temporary support order, while the entry of the permanent order was on appeal. The appellate court affirmed the permanent child support order. In the latest appeal, the mother appealed the modification of the permanent order. The father filed to modify based on the emancipation of a child.
Read MoreKelley v. Zitzelberger (Mississippi 2022)
To modify a child support order, a parent must show a material change of circumstances that was unforeseen at the time of the original order. The father retired from the military and requested a modification of child support. The parents had orally agreed to reduce support and that the father would pay for certain expenses. The father wanted to offset the expenses with his arrears. The chancery court denied his request and entered a judgment for arrears. The appellate court affirmed.
Read MoreTucker v. Tucker (Wyoming 2023)
The record must contain sufficient evidence to support the determination of income for child support. This modification case was initially brought by the State. The father then filed his own petition. After a lengthy period, the district court entered an order modifying the father’s obligation. The mother appealed. She alleged the evidence didn’t support the calculation of the father’s income.
Read MoreNowell v. Stewart (Mississippi 2022)
The modification of a child support order requires an unforeseen change of circumstances. The parent requesting the modification bears the burden of proof. The mother filed to modify child support based on the increased cost of the child’s special needs. After a lengthy proceeding, the chancery court enterd an order increasing support. The chancery court found the child’s needs had increased and had extensive medical expenses. The chancery court made the modification retroactive and entered a judgment.
Read MoreBarus v. Coffey (North Carolina 2022)
A motion to modify child support is sufficient if it contains allegations in line with statutory requirements for a presumptive modification. The trial court dismissed the father’s motion to modify child support for failure to state a claim finding the motion didn’t provide the mother with sufficient notice. The father appealed and the appellate court reversed and remanded.
Read MoreTigart v. Tigart (Tennessee 2021)
A child support order can be modified when there is a significant variance, which means at least a fifteen percent difference in the current support obligation and the proposed support amount. In the original parenting plan, the parents agreed to an upward deviation in child support so the children could enjoy the same lifestyle. The mother filed to modify the parenting plan and for contempt. The father answered and filed a motion to set aside the divorce decree. The trial court denied the father’s motion to set aside but reduced support based on the father’s new amount of parenting time and his additional child. The mother filed a motion to alter or amend the judgment arguing there was no substantial variance in support.
Read MoreJohnson v. Johnson (Nebraska 2021)
For child support to be properly before the court, the pleading must contain the right language. The original divorce decree granted the parents shared custody of their two children and set child support at zero. The father filed to modify custody and support and the mother counterclaimed for a modification of custody and support consistent with the Nebraska guidelines. The final order found neither party met the burden to change custody. The mother filed to alter or amend the order requesting the court address a material change of circumstances with respect to support. Following a hearing, the trial court entered an order for father to pay the mother. The father appealed.
Read MoreSallae v. Omar (Nebraska 2021)
A parent who seeks to modify a child support order must show a ten percent change in support, upward or downward, due to financial circumstances which have lasted three months and that will most likely continue for another six months. In this case, the initial support order required the father to pay monthly child support of $50. The mother filed to modify support citing the parties change in employment and income. Testimony showed the father had worked but was not working at the time of hearing. He testified he could only work 20 hours per week, and he suffered from sleeping issues and other ailments. He offered no supporting documentation. The mother was eligible for a raise, which meant the child no longer qualified for Medicaid. She was going to have to insure him through her employer-provided insurance.
Read MoreIn re Rees (Kansas 2021)
When a parent voluntarily leaves a higher paying job, the court must determine if the termination was for rational and sufficient reasons and the parent can’t find a similarly paying job. The father moved and found a lower paying job. He petitioned to modify his child support based on his reduced income. As the reason for his move, the father presented evidence he no longer had visitation rights to the child and he would be closer to his family. The trial court granted his petition and reduced support. The mother appealed.
Read MoreNielson v. Nielson (Nebraska 2021)
A parent who seeks to modify a child support order must show an unforeseeable material change of circumstances that occurred after the entry of the original decree. The parents agreed to child support in the initial decree, even though the amount didn’t match the child support worksheets attached to the order. The father failed to pay, and the mother filed for contempt. Subsequently, the father filed to modify his child support order based on a downturn in his business.
Read MoreIn 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.
Read MoreAmsden v. Amsden (Nebraska 2021)
A settlement agreement is subject to the principles of contact law. If the parties haven’t agreed to essential terms, then there is no agreement. Following the father’s filing of a petition to modify custody, the parents in this case reached a settlement agreement. The parties read the agreement into the record during court, acknowledging the child support worksheet still needed to be completed. The trial court gave the parties time to do so. Eventually, the father filed a motion to enforce the agreement. The trial court granted the motion and ordered the mother to pay support. The mother appealed.
Read MoreBennett v. Bennett (Mississippi 2021)
The expenses associated with raising a child are expected to increase as the child ages but the specific amount isn’t foreseeable. An action to modify the child support amount may be necessary. The mother filed to find the father in contempt for failure to pay child support and to modify the order. She alleged her expenses had increased since the father hadn’t exercised visitation, the father had failed to pay his share of medical expenses, and the father had a second job and was earning additional income.
Read MoreLangley v. Langely (Nebraska 2021)
A correct result in a child support modification will not be set aside even if the court applied the wrong reasoning. In the original divorce decree, neither party was ordered to pay support based on the close to equal parenting schedule. The mother filed to modify custody and the father counterclaimed to modify custody and support. The father alleged his reduced income as a substantial change of circumstances. The trial court granted the modification based on the amount of time the children spent with each parent and ordered the mother to pay support. The mother appealed.
Read MoreBrown v. Brown (Wyoming 2021)
Unless an order contains the required findings, a child support order is assumed to be presumptive support and only requires a change in amount for modification. The original divorce decree ordered the father to pay support. He later filed to modify the divorce decree. The final order modified support based on an increase in the support amount sufficient to meet the required twenty percent change. The father appealed.
Read MoreMahlendorf v. Mahlendorf (Nebraska 2021)
A consent judgement is not subject to appellate review. The original divorce decree had been modified several times to reflect various changes. The first modification allowed the mother to move from Nebraska. The father was awarded a deviation in support to account for his travel costs to see the children in Tennessee. The parents modified the order a second time and carried the deviation for travel expenses forward. The mother filed to modify the decree a third time. The mother requested an increase in support due to higher incomes and the deviation be eliminated. After a day at trial, the parents asked the court to weigh in on the presented evidence.
Read MoreWerner v. Werner (Nebraska 2020)
To modify a support order, a parent must show a material change in circumstances that occurred after the entry of the latest order and that wasn’t contemplated upon entry of the order. The Nebraska order at issue in this case involved a split custody arrangement. The older child lived with the father, and the younger…
Read MoreDixon v. Olmstead (Mississippi 2020)
Proof of a substantial change of circumstances isn’t required when a IV-D agency petitions for a modification under the three-year review statute. However, the record must contain evidence of the parent’s income. The father filed to terminate support and his parental rights to a minor child. The Mississippi Department of Human Services (MDHS) filed a…
Read MoreKrohn v. Krohn (Mississippi 2020)
A court must approve any custody change. Without a court order, there may be no right to support. In this divorce, the mother was awarded primary custody of the child. The father was ordered to pay support and alimony. Post-divorce litigation regarding custody and child support began almost immediately. The father lost his high paying…
Read MoreKimzey v. Kimzey (Wyoming 2020)
To modify a stipulated child support order, there must be a substantial change of circumstances in addition to the required change in the support amount. The parents divorced and in the decree stipulated to a child support amount lower than the guideline amount. Following the mother’s move to Arizona, the father filed to modify custody…
Read MorePumroy v. Sisco (Mississippi 2020)
A child’s emancipation is grounds for modification of a child support order. The mother and father, who had three children, divorced. The father was ordered to pay support for the three children. The father was ordered to pay support for their three children. This order was subsequently modified, and the child support provision stated that…
Read MoreWilder v. Wilder (Tennessee 2020)
An order that doesn’t adjudicate all of the issues before the court is not final and not ready for appeal. The parents in this case filed competing petitions to modify child support for their three children. The father, the payor, requested a downward modification, arguing his income had decreased. The mother requested an upward modification…
Read MoreBest v. Oliver (Mississippi 2020)
To modify a child support order, there must be a material change in circumstances that wasn’t foreseeable when the original order was established. While an increase in a child’s expenses is foreseeable, the amount of the increase is not. The mother and father divorced, and the father was ordered to pay support for their only…
Read MoreKibbe. v. Kibbe (Tennessee 2020)
The court has discretion to craft a child support award that will best support a child with extraordinary medical needs as long as the court considers all available resources. The parents’ initial divorce decree addressed the needs of their special needs child. The mother primarily cared for the child, and the father was granted visitation.…
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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 MoreCampbell v. Campbell (Mississippi 2018)
Modification of a child support order is only appropriate when there is a substantial change of circumstances that was not reasonably anticipated at the time of an agreement. The father appealed an upward modification of his child support. The terms of the original decree included a per child support amount and specified the conditions under…
Read MoreRobeson County Enforcement Unit v. Harrison (North Carolina 2018)
A substantial change of circumstances must occur for a child support order to be modified. The father appealed an order modifying his support arguing that there was no substantial change of circumstances. His income had increased, but it increased some time ago. In fact, the parties agreed to the previous order, and his income had…
Read MoreState v. Rogelio L. (Nebraska 2018)
In a modification action, the court may deviate from presumptive support for children born subsequent to the order. The father filed to modify his support order based on a reduction in his income. The father testified he didn’t pay taxes, but deducted taxes to reach his proposed net income. The district court dismissed the modification…
Read MoreSmith v. Doe (Mississippi 2018)
A party must move to set aside a final judgment within six months if the party is alleging misconduct by the other party as the grounds for the set aside. In the case at hand, the father and mother settled their divorce. The terms included a higher than guideline amount of child support and father…
Read MoreIn re CT: Taylor v. Timmons (Mississippi 2017)
When a substantial change of circumstances occurs, a court can modify a child support order. If the court deviates from the new presumptive amount, written findings must support the deviation. In this case, the father appealed his modified order, which increased his support amount from $300 to $1,500 per month. He argued inadequate findings. The…
Read MoreDavis v. Davis (Mississippi 2017)
A parent who requests a modification of a support order must show a substantial change of the circumstances that existed at the time of the court order. The change must be unforeseen and happen after entry of the order. In this case, the father was convicted of a felony after the order was entered. Finding…
Read MoreZupan v. Zupan (Wyoming 2016)
The parent who petitions to modify a stipulated child support order must show a material change in circumstances as well as a 20 percent change in the support amount. This rule addresses the issue of a parent agreeing to a support amount 20 percent lower or higher than the presumptive amount only to petition for…
Read MoreHarris 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,…
Read MoreIn re Gabrielle R. (Tennessee 2016)
A review of the child support amount automatically follows a petition to modify parenting or visitation time and does not require a specific request.
Read MoreLowrey v. Simmons (Mississippi 2015)
A child support obligation will not be terminated just because the relationship between the child and the obligor parent has deteriorated.
Read MoreCollins v. Collins (Nebraska 2012)
A material change in circumstance sufficient to justify modifying a child support order must exist at the time of trial, evidence must support the change, and it must be more than a temporary change.
Read MoreMurphy v. Murphy (Nebraska 2008)
When a parent’s own actions lead to a reduced income, there is no substantial change in circumstances that would justify modifying a child support order.
Read MoreSellers v. Sellers (Nebraska 2015)
Where a strict application of the child support guidelines is presumed, a father’s request for a deviation from the guidelines was not supported by sufficient evidence.
Read MoreAnderson v. Anderson (Mississippi 2015)
A stipulated child support agreement will be treated as though court-ordered, and the amount will not be reviewed for a modification unless there is a material change of circumstances that occurred after the agreement was entered.
Read MoreLevene v. Levene (Wyoming 2014)
In making a determination of voluntary unemployment, the court shall consider: (A) Prior employment experience and history; (B) Educational level and whether additional education would make the parent more self-sufficient or significantly increase the parent’s income; (C) The presence of children of the marriage in the parent’s home and its impact on the earnings of…
Read MoreOrtiz v. Ortiz (Kansas 1956)
The marriage of a minor child does not automatically terminate the child support obligation of the minor.
Read MoreBrady v. Brady (Kansas 1979)
When a child attains the age of majority, or when a child goes to live with the other parent, or when a child dies, the obligation to pay support for that child should automatically cease and terminate unless an agreement provides otherwise.
Read MoreIn re Marriage of Peak (Kansas 1989)
When a child goes to live with the other parent, but it is not a permanent change in custody, “abatement” is accepted as a court ordered modification.
Read MoreIn re Marriage of Case (Kansas 1994)
Voluntary termination by a child support obligor from higher paid employment to accept lower paid employment is always suspect.
Read MoreSharpe v. Sharpe (Wyoming 1995)
The denial of visitation rights by either the custodial parent or the child does not constitute a change in circumstances justifying the reduction or termination of the non-custodial parent’s support obligation.
Read MoreRupp v. Grubb (Kansas 1998)
Where a parent is incarcerated in a correctional facility, the fact of incarceration, standing alone, is not legal justification for the suspension or modification of the parent’s child support obligation previously determined under the Kansas Child Support Guidelines.
Read MoreRupp v. Grubb (Kansas 1998)
Where a parent is incarcerated in a correctional facility, the fact of incarceration, standing alone, is not legal justification for the suspension or modification of the parent’s child support obligation previously determined under the Kansas Child Support Guidelines.
Read MoreIn re Marriage of Schoby (Kansas 2000)
The marriage of a minor is not a “terminating event” which automatically allows a payor parent to stop making child support payments for that child.
Read MoreMcCulloh v. Drake (Wyoming 2005)
A change from shared custody to primary custody creates a rebuttable presumption of a change in circumstances occurred significant enough to warrant modification of child support.
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