Taylor v. Taylor (Tennessee 2022)
An order must contain findings of fact to support an upward deviation for extraordinary educational expenses. This award is in addition to presumptive support. The parents had two children. The father’s original support order included an upward deviation for private school tuition. The parties filed numerous post-divorce motions. In the latest action, following a bench trial, the trial court modified support. The final order was then amended. The support amount in the amended order differed from the support amount in attached worksheet, and the father was ordered to “pay per pay period.”
Read MorePonder v. Ponder (Mississippi 2022)
An upward modification can be retroactive to the date of the event justifying the upward modification. When the parents divorced, they had joint physical and legal custody of the child, and no support was ordered. The decree was later modified to grant the mother physical custody of the child. The order stayed entry of a child support order for 90 days. He was to find employment during that time or notify the mother of his failure to find employment so she could take the next action.
Read MoreSmith v. Grant (North Carolina 2022)
A child support order can’t be based on speculation. The parents appeared before the court to determine custody and child support for their child. Prior to hearing, the parents agreed on a joint legal custody and a visitation schedule but the trial court determined child support. The final order granted the mother primary physical custody of the child and calculated child support using Worksheet A, which is based on one parent having less than 123 night of visitation per year.
Read MoreWallace v. Wallace (Mississippi 2022)
Parents can’t unilaterally modify child support. The parents divorced in 2011, and the final divorce decree set out their visitation schedule and ordered the father to pay support. With time, the children alternated weeks with each parent. The father stopped paying support in 2017. In 2019, the mother filed to modify custody, support, for a finding of contempt for the father’s failure to pay support, and sought relief for other issues.
Read MoreIn the Matter of the Parentage of N.P. (Kansas 2022)
A parent must move to set aside an order due to inadvertence or excusable neglect must do so within a year. At issue in this case is a child support order entered on September 24, 2018. On February 5, 2020, the father moved to set aside the order claiming mistake or inadvertence. The district court denied the motion. First, a claim of mistake or inadvertence had to be made with one year. The filing was outside this timeframe.
Read MoreSnowden v. Jaure (Wyoming 2021)
A parent who chooses not to work can be considered voluntarily underemployed. The father filed to modify support based on an increase in the mother’s income. In her financial affidavit, the mother represented she had no income. She testified she had worked in the oil and gas industry, had been laid off due to the pandemic, and was choosing to stay at home with her younger children. The trial court reduced her prior earnings by twenty five percent and imputed her at that amount. The father’s financial affidavit showed he only worked 20 hours per week.
Read MoreThornton v. Thornton (Mississippi 2021)
In the absence of specific findings, evidence in the record must support the award of the child tax exemption to a parent. In the latest appeal of this case, the mother appealed a court order changing custody of the younger child to the father, reducing his child support, and awarding him the income tax exemption for the younger child.
Read MoreChurch v. Jones (Tennessee 2021)
The effective date of a modified order can be set as of the date of the modification petition, the date of the final hearing, or any appropriate date in between. The father filed to modify support based on his reduced income. It took almost four years for this proceeding to end. In the final order, the court reduced support and, applying its discretion, set the effective as the last day of final hearing. The father appealed.
Read MoreBowmaker v. Rollman (Nebraska 2021)
Principles of equity may guide a trial court in crafting a decision under specific circumstances in a child support case. The mother registered a Kansas divorce decree in Nebraska and then filed to modify it and for a finding of contempt against the father for a failure to pay support. Prior to hearing, the parties agreed to a parenting agreement that modified child support. The court approved the agreement pending resolution of several other issues. Prior to entry of the final order, the father filed to set aside the parenting agreement due to a significant decrease in his income. The trial court set aside the agreement but offered the mother the opportunity to do additional discovery about the father’s income.
Read MoreState on behalf of Pierce K. v. Jacob K. (Nebraska 2021)
An abatement of child support is discretionary. The father filed a contempt petition against mother for violating their parenting plan. He asked to be awarded custody of their child and for a modification of child support. The trial court granted the father’s petition, set a new visitation schedule, and ordered the mother to pay support. The mother appealed arguing the court erred in modifying custody and ordering her to pay support.
Read MoreBruce v. Bruce (Wyoming 2021)
The trial court’s child support order will not be disturbed absent an abuse of discretion. The parents divorced. The final decree ordered the father pay child support for the child and half of the travel expenses. The father appealed the order arguing the court should have attributed a higher income to the mother, erred in awarding retroactive support and in denying a deviation for travel expenses.
Read MoreKelly v. Kelly (Nebraska 2021)
Child support orders set under the guidelines are presumably correct. The divorce decree in this case ordered the father to pay child support. The amount included an upward deviation to account for the father’s share of expenses. The father was also ordered to provide health insurance. In 2018, The father lost his job, and the mother began providing health insurance. The mother filed to modify custody and support and the father counterclaimed. In the order for modification, specific to support, the trial court used the father’s proposed calculation to set support, which used the mother’s 2018 income rather than her current, actual income. The order discontinued the deviation and set out a detailed expense sharing plan. The trial court declined to give the mother retroactive credit for her provision of health insurance. The mother appealed.
Read MoreSommer v. Sommer (Nebraska 2020)
Child support payments should be set according to the guidelines. A deviation is appropriate if application of the guidelines is unjust or inappropriate. In this modification action, the mother appealed the court’s order requiring her to pay child support. She argued husband’s trial testimony showed he agreed to a downward deviation so that she wouldn’t…
Read MoreState v. Andreasen and Henley (Nebraska 2020)
A deviation in the amount of presumptive child support is allowed when applying the guidelines would be unjust or inappropriate. Any deviation must be in the child’s best interests. The mother appealed an order denying her request to move out of state with the child, granting physical custody to the child to father, and ordering…
Read MoreLasu v. Lasu (Nebraska 2020)
A documented travel expense may qualify as a deviation from presumptive child support if it is in the child’s best interests. In this divorce case, the court awarded the mother primary physical custody of the child. The mother lived Nebraska, and the father in California. The district court calculated support and deviated from presumptive support…
Read MoreAbraham v. Abraham (Tennessee 2020)
A request for an upward deviation for extracurricular activities is discretionary. A parent must support the request with evidence of the expenses. This post-divorce action came before the court on several grounds. Specific to child support, the mother requested an upward deviation in child support for the children’s extracurricular activities. The trial court denied the…
Read MoreThompson v. Thompson (Nebraska 2020)
To receive credit for health insurance premiums, a parent must provide specific information as to the cost attributable to the child. The father filed to modify custody and support. After hearing, the district court modified child support based on the birth of the father’s first child but didn’t give credit for an unborn child. The…
Read MoreFrost v. Monahan (Nebraska 2020)
Nebraska statute provides for an abatement of child support during extended visitation but the trial court has discretion over its application. The mother and father had a child and shared parenting time under a Stipulated Agreement. The father filed to modify custody, and the mother counterclaimed, requesting permission to move out of state. The trial…
Read MoreCain-Swope v. Swope (Tennessee 2020)
A parent can request a discretion from the child support obligation for extraordinary educational expenses. The parents divorced, and the mother was ordered to pay support. The parents engaged on ongoing litigation. Specific to this appeal, the mother filed to modify support, requesting a deviation from support since she paid for the child’s private school…
Read MoreCarter v. Thompson (Nebraska 2020)
The trial court has discretion to determine if a modified child support order will be retroactive. The mother filed to modify child support in February 2016, and the father cross-appealed to modify custody and support. The trial court entered an order on September 28, 2018, increasing the father’s child support retroactive to February 2016. The…
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 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 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 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 MoreLong v. Long (Wyoming 2018)
A district court must include the presumptive child support amount in a final decree of divorce. That is the basis for any deviation. Prior to the divorce, the mother filed for a protective order in Circuit Court, and the court set support in this action. The District Court incorporated the amount of support in the…
Read MoreGipson v. Jackson (Mississippi 2018)
If a court deviates from the presumptive amount of child support, it must make findings as to why the application of the guidelines is unjust or inappropriate. The father appealed the Chancery Court order that increased child support by $200. The order did not contain any specific findings as to father’s adjusted gross income or…
Read MoreTSR v. State of Wyoming (Wyoming 2017)
As long as the process meets statutory requirements, a court may deviate from presumptive support for later-born children. The mother appealed the district court’s decision to deviate downward from presumptive support for a child born of the father’s current marriage. The district court calculated presumptive support for the parties’ child. The court then calculated the…
Read MoreBlack v. Black (Mississippi 2017)
When a parent’s adjusted gross income exceeds $100,000 per year, the Court must make a finding as to whether the application of the guidelines is reasonable. The guideline child support award would be 20 percent of the parent’s adjusted gross income. The father in this case is a surgeon whose adjusted gross income is more…
Read MoreSarno v. Sarno (North Carolina 2017)
North Carolina courts must follow the statutory process for deviating from presumptive child support. The mother appealed the court’s deviation from presumptive support arguing that the court failed to make the required findings. In North Carolina, the court can consider a deviation after determining the presumptive support amount, considering evidence regarding the child’s need for…
Read MoreSardon v. Sardon (Tennessee 2017)
The Tennessee statutes allow courts to deviate from the presumptive child support amount for the cost of children’s extracurricular activities. The evidence in this case clearly supported the cost of the activities, and the father did not object to the activities other than he felt mother didn’t consult him. The appellate court upheld the trial…
Read MoreHalim v. El-Alayli (Tennessee 2017)
A parent who requests more than the capped amount of child support must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the upward deviation is reasonably necessary to support the children. In this modification action, the mother requested child support plus additional amounts for the caretaker for a special needs child, camp, food, utilities, vacation,…
Read MoreKephart v. Kephart (Tennessee 2016)
If a parent is receiving social security disability, no support is due if the amount of the benefit exceeds the presumed amount of support. The statute does not contemplate that the parent will retain the difference between the presumed amount of support and the social security benefit.
Read MoreState v. Coldwater (Oklahoma 2016)
In Oklahoma, parents may receive credit in a child support calculation for children from other relationships who they support. The court must determine the number of qualified children and that number will then be inserted on the child support calculation form.
Read MoreDellit v. Tracy (Wyoming 2015)
A district court may deviate from a presumptive child support amount even when a party is receiving a government benefit on a child’s behalf as long as the Court makes a finding to support the reduction.
Read MoreIn re Andrea R. (Tennessee 2015)
An upward deviation in the child support amount for private school tuition must be supported by a specific finding that the expense is appropriate. This finding must be based on evidence of the financial circumstances of each parent and the child’s lifestyle. In re Andrea R.pdf
Read MoreLubell v. Lubell (Tennesee 2015)
Private school tuition and other approved extraordinary educational expenses should be considered as a deviation from the guideline child support amount and added to the base child support award.
Read MoreBurnham v. Burnham (Mississippi 2015)
An agreement for child support that is chancellor–approved will not be reviewed on appeal if the agreement was not presented to the trial court for review.
Read MoreRutherford v. Rutherford (Nebraska 2009)
The failure to attach the child support worksheet to every child support order is an abuse of discretion.
Read MoreProchaska v. Prochaska (Nebraska 2009)
When setting a child support obligation for an obligor with multiple families, the court may deviate from a strict application of the guidelines as long as it considers the facts of the case.
Read MoreStekr v. Beecham (Nebraska 2015)
In a modification proceeding, the court may consider all of a parent’s financial resources, including the value of non-income producing assets, such as a house with no mortgage.
Read MoreStekr v. Beecham (Nebraska 2015)
In a modification proceeding, the court may consider all of a parent’s financial resources, including the value of non-income producing assets, such as a house with no mortgage.
Read MoreGladwell v. Gladwell (Tennessee 2015)
Court of Appeals upheld trail court award of federal income tax deduction for children to Mother.
Read MoreHayes v. Hayes
An upward deviation in child support without a specific finding to support the increase will be viewed as an abuse of discretion.
Read MoreHasty v. Hasty (Wyoming 1992)
A trial court has the authority to deviate from guidelines by considering non-custodial parent’s support obligations to later born minor children of subsequent marriages.
Read MoreDowdy v. Dowdy (Wyoming 1993)
Slight deviations from the guidelines without issuance of the proper findings does not require appellate courts to reverse and remand back to a district court.
Read MoreThomas v. Thomas (Wyoming 1996)
The legislature intended the change in the age of majority to apply prospectively only and not to apply to an existing court decree such as a child support order.
Read MoreIn re Marriage of Johnson (Kansas 1997)
If a reasonable person could conclude that a parent is not deliberately unemployed or underemployed, it is not an abuse of discretion for the district court to refuse to impute the parent’s former income in calculating the child support obligation.
Read MoreWood v. Wood (Wyoming 1998)
Individual is not voluntarily underemployed because (s)he voluntarily commits a crime, which limits their employment options, if evidence reveals that they make a good faith effort to find the highest paying job possible given their situation.
Read MoreIn re Paternity of IC (Wyoming 1999)
A court has the authority to deviate a child support obligation downward based on insurance and travel costs.
Read MoreIn re Marriage of Burton (Kansas 2001)
A trial court must follow the support guidelines, and a deviation from the guidelines without a stated reason is reversible error.
Read MoreBarnett v. Cusimano (Kansas 2002)
There is no authority within the guidelines to increase the non-custodial parent’s child support obligation through an upward adjustment under the supplemental visitation category based solely upon the non-custodial parent’s failure to exercise visitation or spend quality time with a minor child.
Read MoreReady v. Ready (Wyoming 2003)
A deviation from the guidelines is permitted only when the trial court makes a finding that it would be unjust or inappropriate to follow them in a particular case and it specifically sets forth in full the reasons thereof in a divorce decree.
Read MoreDurham v. Durham (Wyoming 2003)
Deviation is allowed for substantial cost of transportation and visitation.
Read MoreOpitz v. Opitz (Wyoming 2007)
Upward deviation due to underemployment is justified as long as district court explains the deviation.
Read MoreIn re Marriage of Leoni (Kansas 2007)
Any deviation from the amount of child support determined by the use of the guidelines must be justified by written findings in the journal entry, and failure to make such written findings is reversible error.
Read MoreIn re Marriage of Vandervoort (Kansas 2008)
When courts make deviations from the recommended amounts in the Kansas Child Support Guidelines, courts must show that such deviations serve the best interests of the children.
Read MoreBagley v. Bagley (Wyoming 2013)
Wyoming law allows for the consideration of income available to child (supplemental security income) to be considered in determining child support. Based on the needs of a child and the income available to the child, a downward deviation may be appropriate.
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