TN Dad Found Voluntarily Underemployed Because He Could Sit and Work
Tennessee child support law case law summary on lowering child support and collection from the Court of Appeals.
State of Tennessee, ex rel, Samelba P. Lewis (Robinson) vs. T.J. Robinson, III – Collecting and lowering child support
A 1995 divorce decree ended the marriage between the Father, T.J. Robinson, III, and the Mother, Samelba P. Lewis (Robinson). It incorporated a “Marital Dissolution Agreement,” which included a provision for the Father to pay the Mother $218.40/month in child support for the Parties’ son.
In 2001, the State of Tennessee filed a petition for upward modification of child support and enforcement of arrears. A settlement was reached and approved by the court, requiring the Father to pay $355/month in child support plus $45/month towards arrears (amount unspecified).
From 2002 to 2008, both the Father and the State of Tennessee (on behalf of the Mother) filed various petitions relative to child support. For at least four such petitions that were filed, no action was taken by any court. Finally, in 2007, a hearing was conducted, but, if there was a transcript recorded, it was not made part of the record on appeal, meaning that the appellate court could not read it or consider it. This happened again for testimony taken in 2008.
The Father claimed his income to consist of $400/month of self-employment income for lawn services and $100/week as a drummer at a church. The referee before whom the hearing was conducted found no significant variance of fifteen percent or more in the Father’s child support obligation from the current order of $355/month and a current computation of $371/month. With these two steps, the trial court fulfilled the statutory requirements at Tennessee Code Annotated sections 36-5-101(e)(1)(A) and 36-5-101(g).
The trial referee concluded that the Father was not disabled from work because he was driving, in spite of a letter from the Father’s physician limiting his physical activity. The trial court also found that the Father was enrolled at the University of Michigan in the class of 2009 for a Bachelor of Science degree, currently held a dental assistant license, and was considering attending dental school. A footnote stated the claim on appeal by the State that the referee considered live testimony, a letter from the Father’s physician, a letter from the Father’s church, and a letter from the Social Security Administration denying the claim for benefits due to the Father’s “ability to perform other types of sit down work.”
Quite simply, the Court of Appeals affirmed the referee’s findings and no modification was made to the Father’s then current child support obligation.
No. M2008-00275-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. July 30, 2009).
See original opinion for exact language. Legal citations omitted.
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