Gyger v. Clement (North Carolina 2022)
Under the Hague Convention, the respondent parent must have minimum contacts with a country for the country to have jurisdiction to enter a child support order. Switzerland, on behalf of mother, requested North Carolina register a Swiss child support order for enforcement. The father argued the Swiss Court had no personal jurisdiction over him, which is required as part of the Hague Convention. The North Carolina district court agreed. It found the father hadn’t received the required notice and opportunity to be heard. The mother appealed.
Read MoreHoard v. Barrom (Tennessee 2022)
A court is without jurisdiction to modify a support order once a child has emancipated. The state of Tennessee petitioned to modify the father’s support order. The child turned 18 the following month. The trial court modified the order. A year later, the father moved to set aside the order, arguing the trial court had no jurisdiction to modify since the child had turned 18 and graduated from high school before order entry. The court denied the motion to set aside. The father appealed. The appellate court vacated the support order.
Read MoreGrace v. Grace (Tennessee 2022)
In January 2017, the parties registered a Kentucky decree of divorce in Tennessee. In 2020, the father asked to modify the visitation schedule, and the mother counter-petitioned to modify support. Specific to support, the trial court entered a judgment for arrears due under the Kentucky order from January 2014 – December 2016. It then modified support, effective January 2017. The trial court denied the mother’s request for pre and post judgment interest. The mother appealed the order’s child support provisions. The appellate four affirmed in part and reversed in part.
Read MoreKubica v. Morgan (North Carolina 2022)
A court has jurisdiction to hear a claim for child support within a child custody proceeding. The father filed to modify custody. The modified order granted primary physical custody to the mother. She then filed a motion to modify child support. The father filed to dismiss the motion, arguing the court had no jurisdiction to hear child support within a custody proceeding. The trial court denied the motion. The father appealed, arguing the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the child support issue.
Read MoreChalmers v. Burrough (Kansas 2021)
A parent’s failure to comply with the registration procedure for UIFSA doesn’t deprive a district court of general subject matter jurisdiction over support orders. The father filed to register and modify a Florida support order in Kansas but failed to attach a copy of the original order, as required by statute. The court temporarily modified support. The mother filed to dismiss the action based on the father’s failure to comply with the registration procedure, arguing the court was without jurisdiction over the order.
Read MorePorter v. Porter (Nebraska 2021)
To be considered final and appealable, an order must affect a substantial right. The mother filed to modify child support and served the father, who appeared at the initial hearing. He failed to appear at a later hearing and the court entered a default judgement against him for support. The father filed to vacate or alter the order, and the trial court set aside the judgment. The mother appealed.
Read MoreState ex rel. Roberts v. Crafton (Tennessee 2021)
A child support order may be void on grounds of public policy if it relieves both parents of their obligation to pay support. The original divorce decree in this case ordered the father to pay half of the children’s private school tuition in lieu of child support. If the children stopped attending private school, then support would be calculated under the guidelines. Subsequently, the case was transferred from Circuit Court to Juvenile Court. The father filed many motions all with the objective of setting aside the tuition provision.
Read MoreIn re Ralph (Kansas 2021)
Due process requires a modification filing include all statutorily required documents. In 2017, the father filed to modify child support but failed to include the required domestic relations affidavit (DRA) or child support worksheet (CSW). In her answer, the mother noted the missing documents. Father took no further action until 2019 when he filed again, this time including the DRA and child support worksheet. He requested support be modified retroactive to the date of the 2017 filing. He argued equity demanded he be given credit for child support. The trial court modified support prospectively but denied his request for retroactive support. The father appealed.
Read MoreState ex rel. Moody v. Roker (Tennessee 2021)
A ruling in a final order must be supported by findings of fact and conclusions of law. The mother, a Georgia resident, used the child support program to establish paternity and support pursuant to the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act. The father was incarcerated in Tennessee. The father filed numerous pretrial motions. Significant to this appeal, he filed a motion to participate in the hearing and for transportation. The trial court held a hearing, which was attended by the child support attorney.
Read MoreIn Interest of EQ and JQ (Colorado 2020)
Only one court can set child support. The parents had two separate legal proceedings going on at the same time – one in juvenile court and a domestic relations proceeding. The juvenile court entered an order accepting the parents parenting responsibility agreement. Part of the stipulation was an agreement that child support would be addressed…
Read MoreIn re Easton (Tennessee 2020)
This appeal turns on the procedural differences between an action for dependency/neglect as opposed to an action for a paternity/visitation. The biological father of this child started this action by filing, pro se, a dependency/neglect petition in juvenile court, in which he clearly pled for custody of the child or alternatively, visitation without an obligation…
Read MoreIn re Goodpasture (Kansas 2020)
The trial court doesn’t necessarily lose jurisdiction to enforce a child support order when one parent moves from the state. The parents divorced, and the divorce decree ordered the father to pay support for their three children. The mother assigned her right to child support to the Kansas Department of Children and Families in 2018.…
Read MoreIn re Ray (Kansas 2020)
The right to appeal is statutory, and without a basis for the appeal, it will be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. The mother and father filed for divorce. A temporary order set child support. Various proceedings ensued around custody for the child. The mother filed to modify the temporary support order, which was denied, and…
Read MoreIn re Shockman (Kansas 2020)
The trial court has the authority to manage legal proceedings, which can include delegation of child support matter to a court trustee. The father filed to modify the custody and support provisions of a divorce decree. The scheduling order indicated that the child support would be referred to the court trustee. The trial court heard…
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 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 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 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 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 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 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 MorePeople in the Interest of D.C.C. (Colorado 2018)
Once a juvenile court declares a child dependent or neglected, the juvenile court has jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to that child, including paternity. The father appealed a juvenile court order dismissing him from a dependency and neglect action. The juvenile court dismissed the father based on a child support court order for non-paternity. The…
Read MoreState on behalf of Marcelo K. & Rycki K. v. Ricky K. (Nebraska 2018)
Only final orders are appealable. By final, the order must dispose of all of the issues. Ricky K. was the acknowledged father of two children. The State filed an action to establish support. Ricky filed an answer and cross-claim, alleging he was not the father of one of the children, and requesting joint custody and…
Read MoreIn re Biehl (Kansas 2018)
A paternity order may not be final for appellate purposes if it doesn’t address child support and other matters incident to the paternity establishment. The mother in this case appealed the denial of her motion to set aside a journal entry to paternity. The appellate court found it had no jurisdiction to hear the appeal…
Read MoreHance v. Hance (Tennessee 2018)
The juvenile court has exclusive original jurisdiction over dependency and neglect proceedings including child support. If there is also an open action in chancery court, the jurisdiction of the chancery court is suspended. The mother and father in this case divorced in chancery court. A few months later, the father filed to modify the parenting…
Read MoreSummerville v. Summerville (North Carolina 2018)
A child support order cannot be modified sua sponte. The father appealed a district court order modifying his child support obligation, arguing that neither party had requested a modification of support. The appellate court agreed and found that there was no request to modify child support before the court. There is a line of North…
Read MoreMetzler v. Metzler (Nebraska 2018)
Due process requires that a court have personal jurisdiction over a nonresident parent before it can determine child support. For a court to have personal jurisdiction over a parent, the parent must have minimum contacts with the state of Nebraska such that the parent could expect to be called into court. The father, a Nebraska…
Read MoreCovil v. Covil (Nebraska 2018)
A Nebraska district court can’t modify certain terms of another state’s order. The father and mother were divorced in Florida. The mother moved to Nebraska and received court permission to move with the children. Nebraska registered the Florida order. The Father filed to modify the order in Nebraska. He requested credit for past payments, support…
Read MoreLasecki v. Lasecki (North Carolina 2017)
An unincorporated settlement agreement is a contract, and the agreed-to child support obligation can’t be modified based on a change of circumstances like a court-ordered obligation. The father appealed the district court’s decision not to reduce his support obligation based on his lower income. The appellate court held that a trial court is without authority…
Read MoreState ex rel. Schrita O. v. Robert T. (Tennessee 2017)
A mother has standing to bring a paternity action in juvenile court even if the child has a legal guardian. In this case, the grandfather of the child had been his legal guardian since birth. On appeal, the father argued that the court did not have subject matter jurisdiction to decide the claims because mother…
Read MoreCatawba County ex rel. Rackley v. Loggins (North Carolina 2017)
Catawba County ex rel. Rackley v. Loggins, No. 152PA16 (N.C. 2017). A court maintains subject matter jurisdiction to modify a child support order even without a formal motion for modification. The parents filed a modified voluntary support agreement and order in 2001. The father failed to pay current support regularly and was involved in many…
Read MoreMississippi Dep’t of Human Services v. Porter (Mississippi 2017)
UIFSA does not require an initiating tribunal or registered child support order for a responding tribunal to have subject matter jurisdiction to establish a support order. Additionally, UIFSA calls for the responding state to apply its laws and procedures to the order, including its age of majority. The state of Illinois requested Mississippi’s assistance in…
Read MoreState of Tennesse ex rel. Spurlock v. Torres (Tennessee 2017)
A child support order is void if the court did not have personal jurisdiction over the respondent parent. In interstate actions, there are specific requirements for personal jurisdiction over a nonresident parent, one of which is the parent has entered an appearance or filed a responsive document. In this contempt proceeding, the father, a Texas…
Read MoreHamilton v. Young (Mississippi 2017)
A Mississippi court does not have jurisdiction to modify the child support provisions of an out-of-state divorce decree unless neither of the parents reside in the issuing state or the parties agree in writing to transfer jurisdiction. The issuing state retains jurisdiction until one of these conditions is met. In this case, a Mississippi chancery…
Read MoreStack v. Stack (Tennessee 2016)
A Tennessee court may modify another state’s child support order when the order has been registered in Tennessee, the court has personal jurisdiction over the parties, and the parties have provided the issuing state with written consent to Tennessee’s ongoing jurisdiction. In this case, the parties filed a Notice of Filing of Agreed Order with…
Read MoreCatalano v. Woodcock (Tennessee 2016)
In a divorce proceeding, the requirements for service by publication must be strictly complied with or any resulting order will be void for a lack of personal jurisdiction, which can include the child support order.
Read MoreFuller v. Fuller (Kansas 2016)
Due process requires that the party filing to modify a child support order give notice of the request to the other parent. The other parent is entitled to an opportunity to be heard and a reasonable amount of time to prepare a defense.
Read MoreState on behalf of Ja’Quezz G. v. Teablo P. (Nebraska 2016)
The method of notice of a paternity action must be reasonably calculated to inform the Defendant the action is pending and give the Defendant a chance to object. If a Defendant fails to appear at a hearing after proper service, a default order can be entered.
Read MoreStevens v. Stevens (Nebraska 2016)
The order being appealed must be a final order, not a conditional order. The Order in this case adopted recommendations made by a child support referee, but gave the parties 14 days to make exceptions to the recommendations. Because the finality of the order was conditioned on the parties taking or not taking exceptions, it…
Read MoreIn re Chase (Tennessee 2015)
The Tennessee Code allows for judges in a county to agree that the juvenile court will have jurisdiction to set, enforce, and modify support orders.
Read MoreIn re Marriage of Lohman (Colorado 2015)
When enforcement of a judgment obtained in a foreign country is sought, the Colorado Court must determine if the foreign court had jurisdiction over the Colorado resident and also whether the exercise of jurisdiction is consistent with the Constitution and laws of the United States.
Read MoreGroseth v. Groseth (Nebraska 1999)
A Nebraska court assumes continuing, exclusive jurisdiction to modify another state’s order once both parents and the child no longer reside in the state that issued the order.
Read MoreUnited States v. Morton (Federal, US Supreme Court, 1984)
An employer is not liable for complying with an income withholding order appearing to be valid on in face from a foreign state tribunal.
Read MoreIn re Marriage of Patterson (Kansas 1996)
Statute gives the trial court the jurisdiction to modify child support and education provisions of minor children, even if they were provided for in a property settlement agreement.
Read MoreState ex rel. Secretary of SRS v. Mayfield (Kansas 1998)
In an action to establish an order for support of the child, failure to join any person as a party shall not deprive the court of jurisdiction to determine whether a party to the action has a duty to support the child and, if so, to enter an order for support.
Read MoreState ex rel. Secretary of SRS v. Mayfield (Kansas 1998)
In an action to establish an order for support of the child, failure to join any person as a party shall not deprive the court of jurisdiction to determine whether a party to the action has a duty to support the child and, if so, to enter an order for support.
Read MoreGentzel v. Williams (Kansas 1998)
The Uniform Interstate Family Support Act provides statutory jurisdiction in the district courts to modify a child support order of another state.
Read MoreSkillett v. Sierra (Kansas 2002)
The Kansas Child Support Guidelines are applicable to paternity actions that involve providing for the needs of a child.
Read MoreIn re Marriage of Myers (Kansas 2002)
When both parties to a divorce and the subject child or children have moved out of Kansas, Kansas loses continuing, exclusive jurisdiction to modify a child support order.
Read MoreIn re Marriage of Metz (Kansas 2003)
Whether the district court has the authority under Uniform Interstate Family Support Act to modify its child support order involves whether it has subject matter jurisdiction, which is a question of law over which an appellate court has unlimited review.
Read MoreIn re Paternity of Janzen v. Janzen (Kansas 2010)
Any agreement between an alleged or presumed father and the mother of the child does not bar an action by the child under the Kansas Parentage Act.
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