Manley v. Manley (Mississippi 2023)
A parent must provide clear and convincing evidence in order to receive credit for payments made outside of the terms of a child support order. The mother filed a contempt action against the father for failure to pay child support. The father testified he had paid for the children’s expenses including car payments, tags, car…
Read MoreWhite v. White (Mississippi 2023)
A parent can’t contract away a child’s right to support. The mother filed to find the father in contempt for failure to pay support. The father had stopped paying support when the parents youngest child turned 18. The father argued that a provision in the divorce decree ended support when the youngest child turned 18 or emancipated. The chancery court gave the father credit for some expenses he had paid on behalf of the child but entered a judgment against father for support up to the child’s 21st birthday. The father appealed.
Read MorePinnacol v. Laughlin (Colorado)
For child support funds to be exempt from garnishment, the account into which they are deposited must comply with the provisions of the Colorado Uniform Transfer to Minors Act. When social security funds are comingled with other money, only the amount of funds that is clearly traceable to social security is exempt from garnishment. The parent in this case was awarded Social Security Disability. His employer had provided temporary disability during the award period and sought reimbursement. When the judgment wasn’t paid, the employer began garnishment proceedings. The parent argued his funds were exempt.
Read MoreBarham v. Barham (North Carolina 2022)
A parent can’t unilaterally modify a child support order. The original divorce decree ordered the father to pay support for the parties’ eight children. Support was modified several times. After entry of the latest modification, the father began paying one cent per pay period toward monthly support. He filed for credit for overpaying support, arguing he had made two additional child support payments each year for the years spanning 2013 -2019. The mother filed a motion for contempt for nonpayment. The trial court found the father in contempt.
Read MoreNakauchi v. Cowart (Colorado 2022)
Due process requires parents in direct pay cases receive advance notice of the entry of an income withholding order (IWO) for future child support payments. The mother, who paid her child support directly, filed suit against the county for violating her right to due process when it sent her employer an IWO without notice. The trial court agreed and entered a state-wide injunction requiring notice to obligors concurrently with the entry of an IWO for future support. The Mother appealed, arguing concurrent notice was inadequate to protect her rights. The County also appealed, arguing the injunction was unnecessary.
Read MoreCarroll v. State ex rel. Dep’t of Family Services, Child Support Enforcement (Wyoming 2022)
To set aside an order, there must be unusual circumstances. The child support order at issue in this case was set in 2012. The father was ordered to pay $50 per month, the statutory minimum. The father challenged the statute setting the statutory minimum as unconstitutional several times but was unsuccessful. In the latest legal action, the District Court modified the support order to $0 and entered a judgment for his arrears. The District Court denied his motion to set aside the order.
Read MoreBossian v. Bossian (North Carolina 2022)
Parents can’t unilaterally modify child support orders. A parent is required to comply with the order even if it contains clerical errors. The father was found in contempt for failure to pay support. The final order included a purge payment and date for compliance. The mother filed a motion to correct clerical errors in the contempt order, and father filed a motion to for relief from the contempt order. The trial court granted the mother’s motion and denied the father’s motion. The trial court entered an arrest order but lowered the purge payment so the father could be quickly released.
Read MoreFox v. Ozkan (Kansas 2022)
The doctrine of acquiescence to a judgment applies when a parent complies with an income withholding order. A judgment for unreimbursed medical expenses was entered against the father. When the judgement was entered, an income withholding order was also put in place. After his motion for reconsideration was denied, he appealed. In the meantime, he satisfied the judgment.
Read MoreParental Resp Conc ACB (Colorado 2022)
Due Process requires appointment of counsel for indigent parents when a governmental agency initiates a contempt proceeding and jail is a possible remedy. The child support office filed a contempt proceeding against the father. The petition sought a jail term for the father, which would be suspended based on payment of child support. Throughout the proceeding, the father notified the court he had no ability to pay support and requested appointed counsel. The trial court denied his request and found him in contempt. The father appealed.
Read MoreDavis 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 MoreAbney v. Pace (Tennessee 2021)
If a parent provides health insurance for a child on top of the court-ordered insurance, the cost must be a reasonable for the parent to receive credit for the premium. In the parent’s divorce decree, the father was ordered to pay support and provide health insurance. The father filed to modify support. The mother answered claiming the father had not provided her with proof of the insurance and she counterclaimed for contempt for failure to pay support.
Read MoreStephens v. Stephens (Mississippi 2021)
To modify a child support order, there must be a substantial and material change not anticipated at the time of the original order. To contest a contempt finding, the parent must show evidence of the inability to pay. The parents in this case divorced and the final decree reflected their agreement as to child support and uncovered medical expenses. The mother subsequently filed numerous petitions for contempt. This appeal consolidates the father’s appeal of the two latest orders.
Read MoreGarrison v. Courtney (Mississippi 2020)
Service in a contempt proceeding must provide the parent with due process and cannot be waived. The failure to pay support as ordered is prima facie evidence of contempt. The parents filed for divorce. The chancery court entered a temporary order for custody and child support. Mid-proceeding, the mother filed a contempt motion for father’s failure to pay support. The chancery court heard this motion in conjunction with the already scheduled divorce trial. In the final order, the chancery court found the father in contempt. The father appealed several provisions of the final order, including the contempt finding.
Read MoreEvans v. Evans (Nebraska 2021)
A parent must willfully fail to pay support in order to be found in civil contempt. The County Attorney brought a contempt action against the father for failure to pay support. The district court heard evidence of the father’s assets, including a home and his business. The father argued he was injured and couldn’t work. The district court found the father in contempt for failure to pay support, set a purge payment schedule, and ordered him incarcerated if he didn’t comply with the payment schedule. The father appealed.
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 MoreIn re Humphries (Kansas 2020)
The requirement that a parent pay unreimbursed medical expenses is not self-executing. A court must order it. In the initial order, the father was ordered to pay half of the child’s unreimbursed medical expenses. In post-divorce litigation, a judgment was entered against the father for these expenses. The father appealed the order arguing the imposition of the judgment violated his due process rights.
Read MoreState ex rel. Gray v. Daugherty (Tennessee 2020)
A motion to alter or amend a judgment must be supported with evidence at trial. The State filed a motion for relief from an arrears judgment alleging that the father had been given credit for a payment made to the mother by an NCP on a different case. At the hearing, the State argued in…
Read MoreBilderback-Vess v. Vess (Nebraska 2020)
A finding of contempt in a child support case requires willful disobedience, which is a factual determination. It must be impossible for a parent to pay support. The district court found the father in contempt for failure to child support and alimony. The father’s business failed, and he stopped making support payments. A portion of…
Read MoreIn re Lask (Kansas 2020)
The terms of the order will control what is considered an uninsured medical expense. These parents were operating under the terms of a modified divorce decree which divided uninsured medical expenses proportionately between them. The father, who earned significantly more, paid the bigger share. A child incurred significant bills due to stays in treatment. The…
Read MoreCadigan v. Sullivan (Mississippi 2020)
Parents will be held to their extra-judicial agreements regarding child support. A Florida divorce decree awarded physical custody of the child to the father and set the mother’s child support. Several years later, the parents made an extra-judicial agreement that they would share custody of the child and not exchange support. The parties moved to…
Read MoreToussaint v. King (North Carolina 2020)
In a civil contempt hearing, the trial court must find that the parent willfully failed to comply with the support order and has the present ability to pay any purge condition. The parents in this case had a long history of litigation over child support. In this appeal, the father appealed an order finding him…
Read MorePrice v. Biggs (North Carolina 2020)
In a civil contempt proceeding, the burden is on the moving party to prove contempt. The trial court must address each contempt element in the order. The mother filed a motion to modify child support. At the first hearing, the mother presented her evidence. At the close of her case, the trial court didn’t hear…
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 MoreYoung v. Air Masters Mechanical Inc, (Mississippi 2020)
If a parent’s rights to a child have been terminated, that child is not considered a dependent under the Workers’ Compensation Act. The decedent died in the course of his work. He left no survivors. The mother petitioned the Commission to pay child support arrears from the decedent’s workers’ compensation death benefits. The decedent was…
Read MoreMorris v. Powell (North Carolina 2020)
Child support does not end until a child is legally emancipated. A seventeen-year-old child moved out of his mother’s home, and the father stopped paying support. The mother filed a petition for contempt and for a judgment on the arrears. The father filed to terminate support as of the date the child moved out, arguing…
Read MoreIn re Creagh (Kansas 2019)
If parents agree to a child support arrangement in a marital settlement agreement, it will be enforced as long as the terms are clear and unambiguous. The parents divorced, and a basic child support obligation was set. In the property settlement agreement, the parents agreed that the child support would be offset to pay two…
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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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…
Read MoreBaucom v. Vlahos (North Carolina 2018)
A petition to modify a child support order must request specific relief. Otherwise, the terms of the underlying order do not change. The mother appealed a court order denying her request for reimbursement of uncovered medical expenses. The original divorce decree ordered the father to pay a specific percentage of the uncovered medical bills. A…
Read MoreShawn E. on behalf of Grace E. v. Diane S. (Nebraska 2018)
A garnishment order is not final unless it requires delivery of the debtor’s property to the creditor. The state of Nebraska initiated a garnishment action against the father’s prison account for arrears and past due medical support. After a hearing, the district court entered an order denying the father’s request for continuance, overruling his objection…
Read MoreIn re Marriage of White (Kansas 2018)
The requirement in the child support guidelines that medical support be addressed includes bills incurred, not only bills paid. The father appealed a district court order dividing medical expenses. He argued the court improperly considered bills presented by the mother for expenses incurred, but not paid. The court of appeals upheld the district court order.…
Read MoreState ex rel. Townsend v. Williamson (Tennessee 2018)
A parent may receive credit against any owed arrears for necessary expenditures, but the suit must be brought within six years of the expense and meet the definition. A parent has an obligation to support a child even in the absence of a valid court order. The father appealed a court order that did not…
Read MoreKaplan v. Kaplan (North Carolina 2018)
The burden of proof in a child support contempt hearing shifts to the non-paying parent once a court enters an order to appear and show cause. The father appealed a contempt order. He argued he didn’t have the ability to pay the support or the purge condition. The appellate court affirmed the order and found…
Read MoreState ex rel. Lytle v. Webb (Tennessee 2018)
Adequate findings must support the determination of an arrearage amount. The father appealed an order setting arrears. The arrears were determined in a modification order, but the state filed to alter/amend the arrears amount. The court amended the amount, and father filed to set aside this order. He argued that there was no evidence to…
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 MoreMcCullough v. McCullough (Nebraska 2018)
A parent must make child support payments even if a modification is pending. The father appealed a district court order finding him in contempt for failure to pay child support. He argued that he had filed to modify the support order and that the new order might affect the amount of support owed. The Supreme…
Read MoreMcKinney v. Hamp (Mississippi 2018)
A supersedeas bond, authorized by Mississippi Rule of Appellate Procedure 8(a), will not stay enforcement of an order for prospective, monthly child support pending appeal. A signing bonus for a parent-athlete is part of the parent’s gross income for child support purposes. A court has the discretion to modify an order back to the date…
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 MoreState on behalf of Mariah B. and Renee B. v. Kyle B. (Nebraska 2018)
A contempt finding requires that the parent willfully violate the court order. The parent must have the present ability to comply with the purge conditions. The father appealed a contempt order for failure to pay support. He argued that the nonpayment was not willful and that he couldn’t comply with the purge conditions. The Supreme…
Read MoreCounty of Durham v. Hodges (North Carolina 2017)
Evidence of a parent’s ability to pay must support a contempt order. The father in this case appealed a contempt order arguing that the evidence showed he had no ability to pay support. The contempt order was a pre-printed form that didn’t contain any findings of fact. The appellate court found the order lacked the…
Read MoreSpires v. Simpson (Tennessee 2017)
In a wrongful death action, a parent, who seeks recovery for the death of a child yet owes child support for that child, cannot recover any proceeds until satisfaction of the child support arrears. The mother and father in this case married and had a child. The father left when the child was young, but…
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 MoreIn the Matter of the Paternity of S.M.J. (Kansas 2017)
In an indirect contempt proceeding, the individual must be physically present. If necessary, the Court can issue a bench warrant to compel attendance. The father in this case appealed a contempt finding that resulted from a hearing he did not attend, even though he had been properly served. The language of the indirect contempt statute…
Read MoreState on behalf of Lockwood v. Laue (Nebraska 2017)
In a contempt proceeding for failure to pay child support, a parent can rebut a presumptive finding with evidence showing the failure to pay was not willful. In a district court exception hearing, the court has the discretion to hear additional evidence. In this case, the state of Nebraska took exception to a referee’s dismissal…
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 MoreThompson v. Gerlach (North Carolina 2017)
In order to find a parent in contempt for failure to pay support, the court must find evidence of their ability to pay and willful failure to do so. Also, the order must contain specific purge conditions and date. In this case, the trial court found the father in contempt for failure to pay support…
Read MoreKann v. Kann (Colorado 2017)
Child support and spousal support arrears accrue in two ways, the unpaid principal amount and interest. In cases for collection of spousal support arrears, the defense of laches may apply regardless of the source of the arrears; however, the court reaffirmed its earlier decision in In re Marriage of Johnson, 2016 CO 67 (2016), that…
Read MoreVincent v. Rickman (Mississippi 2017)
If a parent willfully fails to follow the terms of a child support order, the court can find the parent in contempt. Contempt is appropriate if the order is final and the terms are clear. The appellate court upheld the contempt ruling against the father, finding that he failed to comply with the unambiguous terms of…
Read MoreState of Tennessee ex rel. Bass v. Gonzalez-Perez (Tennessee 2017)
Longshore and Harbor Workers’ benefits are exempt from income withholding; however, the receipt of these benefits does not excuse a parent from paying child support. A parent who fails to pay can be found in contempt. In this case, the father suffered a work-related injury and qualified for Longshoreman’s benefits. After the accident, his support…
Read MoreState ex. rel. Smith v. Thorne (Tennessee 2017)
An appeal of a child support order set in juvenile court must be taken to the circuit court. In this case, the State appealed an order dismissing arrears to the Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals found it did not have subject matter jurisdiction over the appeal because the order originated from a dependency…
Read MoreMaher v. Woodruff (Tennessee 2017)
To calculate back child support, apply the guidelines that are in effect at the time of the order. The mother in this case appealed an award of retroactive child support and argued the trial court applied the wrong guidelines. Custody of the children changed from mother to father in 1999. The support amount was not…
Read MoreHolman v. Holman (Mississippi 2017)
A parent must create a record to support the amount of arrears requested. The mother in this case failed to support her claim, and it was denied. The mother included medical bills in her arrears request, which was not appropriate. She also claimed the father had missed several child support payments, but did not question his…
Read MoreCarter v. Davis (Mississippi 2017)
The court has discretion to count payments made directly to a child as child support. The pivotal question is would not giving credit unjustly enrich the custodial parent. The father in this case made direct payments to his daughters while they were in college, and the court gave him credit against his arrears for those…
Read MoreHouse v. House (Nebraska 2017)
A finding of contempt for failure to pay child support is a rebuttable presumption. The burden of proof shifts to the parent to provide evidence that the failure to pay was not willful. In this case, the father argued he was indigent and could not pay support. The Court found that he offered no other…
Read MoreRambo v. Rambo (Wyoming 2017)
Unpaid child support becomes a judgment by operation of law on the due date. Unless a specific exemption applies, interest begins to accrue at the statutory rate. In this case, the mother filed an order to show cause alleging father had failed to pay child support. The order provided that father could purge himself of…
Read MoreHowell v. Smithwick (Tennessee 2017)
Income withholding is mandatory in child support cases unless the court specifically finds good cause or approves an agreement between the parents for an alternative payment arrangement. In this case, the modified child support order did not provide for income withholding, and the mother appealed. The appellate court found the modified order lacked either requirement…
Read MoreIn re Marriage of Johnson (Colorado 2016)
The doctrine of laches is available as a defense to a claim for interest on child support arrears if the custodial parent has not timely pursued collection of the arrears. Allowing a laches defense protects the right of children to parental support and encourages timely enforcement of unpaid obligations. In this case, the father stopped…
Read MoreBrown v. Brown (Tennessee 2016)
In order to find a parent in criminal contempt of court for failure to pay child support, a petitioner must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the parent had the ability to pay the support when it was due and that the failure to pay support was willful. In this case, the Court found that…
Read MorePatrick v. Patrick (Oklahoma 2016)
Child support may only be awarded for an adult disabled child if there is a causal relationship between the disability and the child’s inability to support him or herself. In this case, the mother could not be ordered to support an adult child who had entered treatment for drug and alcohol abuse. Assuming that substance…
Read MoreState v. Waldo (Tennessee 2016)
A parent must have the present ability to pay child support before he or she can be found in civil contempt for non-payment. The future ability to pay is not enough. The contempt order in this case also sentenced the parent to jail but suspended the sentence as long as the parent made a minimum…
Read MoreTollett v. State (Oklahoma 2016)
A parent who has been charged with Omitting to Provide for a Minor has the burden of proving the statute of limitations on the action has not tolled.
Read MoreNguyen v. Heller-Nguyen (North Carolina 2016)
Vested child support arrears are not subject to offset.
Read MoreState ex rel. Creighton v. Hayner (Tennessee 2016)
A judgment for arrears entered in 2005 was void because of improper service on the non-custodial parent.
Read MoreState v. Erpelding (Nebraska 2015)
In a criminal non-support action, the intent to not pay child support does not depend on the Defendant’s ability to pay. The Defendant’s actions, words, and circumstances can all be evidence of an intentional failure to pay.
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 MoreStallings v. Allen (Mississippi 2016)
A parent can be found in civil contempt of court for a failure to provide dental insurance and to pay a portion of uncovered medical expenses as ordered.
Read MoreCaldwell v. Atwood (Mississippi 2015)
A court cannot outright forgive child support arrears.
Read MoreIn re marriage of Stephenson v. Papineau (Kansas 2015)
An NCP whose children receive a lump sum disability award may be entitled to credit for timely paid child support for the period of time covered by the lump sum.
Read MoreState on behalf of LLB v. Hill (Nebraska 2004)
Child support arrears will not be forgiven under an equity argument if a parent’s lack of diligence lead to the accumulation of the arrears
Read MorePalagi v. Palagi (Nebraska 2001)
The emancipation age of a child is typically a non-modifiable provision, and credit against owed arrears will not be given for college tuition payments.
Read MoreGress v. Gress (Nebraska 1999)
A noncustodial parent is entitled to a credit against a monthly child support obligation for Social Security benefits paid to his or her minor child as a result of the non-custodial parent’s disability.
Read MoreSmeal Fire Apparatus Co v. Kreikemeier (Nebraska 2010)
Civil contempt must be proved by clear and convincing evidence unless statutory procedures impose a different standard.
Read MoreGress v. Gress (Nebraska 1999)
A noncustodial parent is entitled to a credit against a monthly child support obligation for Social Security benefits paid to his or her minor child as a result of the non-custodial parent’s disability.
Read MoreState on behalf of LLB v. Hill (Nebraska 2004)
Child support arrears will not be forgiven under an equity argument if a parent’s lack of diligence lead to the accumulation of the arrears.
Read MoreCain v. Jacox (Kansas 2015)
The doctrine of res judicata will not bar a claim for post judgment interest on a child support obligation when a parent was not a party in a prior proceeding or in privity with a party to a prior proceeding.
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