Davis v. Henderson (Mississippi 2021)
When reviewing a lower court’s decision to terminate child support due to the child’s extreme actions, the proper standard of review of abuse of discretion. The chancery court terminated a father’s obligation to support his child based on the child’s refusal to have contact with the father. The obligation was terminated until the child resumed visitation with the father. The court of appeals reversed, finding the father at fault for the deterioration of the relationship. The Supreme Court reversed, finding the appellate court didn’t apply the right standard of review.
Read MoreMcGrath v. Hester (Tennessee 2021)
A clear and unambiguous provision of an agreed-to parenting plan is enforceable. The parents in this case agreed to a provision in their parenting plan requiring them to each maintain a life insurance policy in the amount of $300,000 for the benefit of their children until completion of the child support obligation. The father, who remarried, passed away. He left a life insurance policy, and the mother filed a complaint requesting a constructive trust for the $300,000.
Read MoreIvory v. Albert (Mississippi 2020)
A child support obligation may be terminated due to a child’s clear and extreme actions. The father filed to end his support obligation to the child. He alleged the child would not see him and didn’t want a relationship with him. The trial court ended the support. The mother appealed. The appellate court reversed the…
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 MoreState ex rel. Nichols v. Songstad (Tennessee 2018)
Child support cannot be modified without court permission even when the number of children for whom the parent is responsible changes. The parent must file for a modification, provide notice to the other parents, and prove a significant variance. The mother and father were divorced, and the father was ordered to pay support for their…
Read MoreDixon v. Dixon (Mississippi 2018)
A Mississippi statute gives courts discretion to emancipate a child and terminate child support under certain circumstances. A judgment on arrears clears a parent of contempt so as to allow for a modification of support but the parent still has to show a substantial change in circumstances. The father appealed the chancery court order that…
Read MoreCopeland v. Copeland (Mississippi 2017)
A court can terminate child support when the children’s clear and extreme behavior makes the parent-child relationship impossible. The father, the non-custodial parent in this case, petitioned the chancery court to award him custody of his children and/or for other general relief. The chancery court denied the modification but found the children’s behavior toward their…
Read MoreDennis v. Dennis (Mississippi 2017)
A person who voluntarily agrees to pay support may be held to that obligation under a quasicontractual theory. In this case, the great-grandparents were the custodians of a child. The great-grandparents subsequently divorced and in the settlement agreement, the step great-grandfather, who had no biological connection to the child, agreed to pay child support. Several…
Read MoreIn re Marriage of Gross and Gross (Colorado 2016)
When a parent voluntarily relinquishes parental rights, the obligation to support the child does not end until a final order of relinquishment is entered.
Read MoreMitchell v. Hall (Tennessee 2016)
A modification of a child support amount due to a child reaching the age of majority is not considered a retroactive modification in a strict sense. While the Court must still make factual findings to support the new amount, generally a parent’s duty to support a child ends when a child reaches the age of…
Read More