Mom Gets More Child Support Although Dad Claimed Disabled
Tennessee law case summary on child support modification in divorce and family law from the Court of Appeals.
Christopher Lance Allen v. Robbie Marie Allen – Tennessee divorce child support modification.
Robbie and Lance Allen were divorced in 2007, and have one child, who was 13 years old at the time of this appeal. Under the original parenting plan, the mother was named the primary residential parent with 280 days per year of parenting time. The father was awarded 85 days parenting time. At the time, he had an annual income of $72,800 from his family’s successful trucking company, and he was ordered to pay child support of $939 per month.
In 2009, he requested a reduction on the grounds that he had lost his job. This was based upon the fact that he had gotten “out of favor with his family” and his income had gone down. Based upon an income of $2,600 per month, the support obligation was reduced to $486 per month.
In 2010, it was the mother who went to court requesting a change, based on a reduction in her income, and her claim that the father was back in favor with his family who was now meeting his financial needs. But the father asserted that he was unemployed due to injuries, and was in the process of claiming social security disability.
After various hearings, the court concluded that the father’s only benefit from the trucking company now was the use of a car, valued at $250 per month, and some insurance benefits. The trial court found no evidence of voluntary unemployment. Therefore, it did not impose any further support obligation on the father. The mother then appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals, and argued that the father should have been imputed income due to voluntary unemployment. The Court of Appeals looked at the somewhat confusing record, and agreed that the father’s income for purposes of child support should be set at $2,850 per month.
The mother also argued that the child was now spending 365 days per year with her, and the guideline calculation should use this figure. The court agreed, since the guidelines clearly call for use of the actual number of days, rather than a different amount that might be allowed by the parenting plan.
When the court considered these numbers, it held that this constituted a significant variance, and should have resulted in a modification of the support obligation.
For these reasons, the Court of Appeals remanded the case to the Rutherford County Chancery Court for a recalculation of the father’s support obligations.
No. M2013-00271-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Apr. 28, 2014).
See original opinion for exact language. Legal citations omitted.
To learn more about child support modification, see Tennessee Child Support Modification Law | How to Modify Child Support.
