Pilot Father Must Pay for Respite Care for Disabled Daughter
Tennessee alimony modification case summary and special needs child.
Christopher Maurice Kibbe v. Mary Carolyn Kibbe
The mother and father in this Washington County, Tennessee, case were divorced in 2014. They were the parents of two children, one of whom was disabled. The father was granted 124 days per year of co-parenting time with the disabled daughter, who was in need of constant care and supervision.
The father was a commercial pilot, although he was receiving disability income at the time of the divorce. He was ordered to pay $2,500 in spousal support and $1,742 in child support.
After the divorce, the father returned to his job as a pilot, and also became the primary residential parent of the other child. As a result, his child support was reduced to $1,227. However, because of his work schedule, he rarely exercised parenting time with the disabled daughter.
In 2017, the father returned to court to ask for modification of the spousal support. He argued that there was a material change of circumstances as a result of the marital residence not selling. The additional debt load made a reduction in alimony necessary, he argued. He also pointed to the mother’s employment income.
The mother argued that the father’s failure to exercise co-parenting time resulted in the need for her to obtain respite care.
The trial court agreed with the father as to the alimony reduction. The court, Judge James E. Lauderback, reduced the obligation to $1,500 until the residence was sold.
The court was also sympathetic to the mother’s argument. Therefore, it ordered the father to pay $180 per night for each night that he failed to keep the daughter. The trial court based this upon respite care costing $15 per hour for 12 hours.
The father appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals. He argued that the conditions imposed on his co-parenting time, and the requirement to pay when he didn’t exercise it, were improper.
On appeal, the father argued that the need for respite care was considered during the original trial, and that the alimony amount took this into account.
The appeals court looked to the Tennessee child support guidelines, a portion of which calls for departures in cases of extreme hardship. This includes cases of an extraordinary need, and the court agreed that the case qualified. It pointed out that the daughter couldn’t be left alone, and needed care by someone familiar with her needs. The appeals court ruled that the lower court had correctly considered this need, and affirmed the upward departure in child support.
After considering other issues in the case, the Court of Appeals affirmed. It did deny the mother attorney’s fees, both at trial and on appeal.
No. E2018-00198-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Jan. 30, 2020).
See original opinion for exact language. Legal citations omitted.
To learn more, see Alimony Modification in Tennessee Law | How to Modify Alimony.
