More Must Be Determined For Parent to Be Voluntarily Underemployed
Tennessee child support case summary on income determination.
Kellye Ann Reid v. Mitchell Sherman Reid
The mother and father in this Putnam County, Tennessee, case were divorced in 2011. The permanent parenting plan named the mother as the primary residential parent, with both parents being granted equal parenting time. The father was ordered to pay $814 per month in child support for the couple’s two children. The child support obligation was reduced twice over the years, being set at $288 in 2014.
The father came back to court in 2015 requesting another reduction. He argued that there was a material change of circumstances due to his income being reduced and the mother’s increased.
The mother argued that the father was trying to hide income. She alleged that the father was self-employed and was referring work to his brother, who worked in the same trade. The trial court denied the father’s request, and held that the father was voluntarily underemployed. Both parties then appealed various issues to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.
The Court of Appeals examined the evidence, which consisted mostly of 1099 forms from the vinyl-repair company for which he contracted. The Court of Appeals examined the dollar amounts and concluded that the evidence was in support of the trial court’s conclusion that the father had not met his burden of establishing substantially reduced income.
The mother, on the other hand, argued that the father’s income had actually increased, and requested an increase in child support. Here, the father argued that the trial court had erred in finding that he was voluntarily underemployed. Here, the appeals court agreed with the father that there was not substantial evidence to support the claim. The trial court had found a decrease of income, but it held that the reduction, by itself, did not establish all of the elements necessary to show voluntary underemployment. It did find, however, that there was enough evidence to call the matter into question. Therefore, it remanded the case for the trial court to make further findings as to whether a finding of voluntary underemployment was warranted.
After addressing other issues related to the parenting plan, the Court of Appeals remanded the case for further proceedings.
No. M2017-00119-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Aug. 15, 2018).
See original opinion for exact language. Legal citations omitted.
To learn more, see Child Support Modification in Tennessee | How to Modify Child Support.
See also Tennessee Parenting Plans and Child Support Worksheets: Building a Constructive Future for Your Family featuring actual examples of parenting plans and child support worksheets from real cases available on Amazon.com.
