TN Dad’s Disability Payments Not Lower Than Prior Child Support Income
Tennessee child support law case law summary on lowering child support from the Court of Appeals.
JENNIFER (PITTS) BRADFORD, v. DAVID WILSON PITTS – Lowering child support in TN due to disability
The parties in this case are Jennifer Pitts Bradford (“Mother”) and David Wison Pitts (“Father”). The parties were divorced in August 2004 and at the time of divorce had 4 children. At the time of the child support order, Mother earned $14,000/ year or $1,167/month and Father earned $226,247 or over $10,000/month. The court used the income of $10,000/month when calculating Father’s child support obligation. The court ordered Father to pay $4,600/month or 46% for 4 children under the child support guidelines.
In 2007, Father became disabled and filed a petition to suspend or terminate child support until he could collect his disability insurance. At the time of the hearing, Father was receiving disability insurance payments of $9,876/month. The Court allowed a downward modification to $1,596/month based upon the income shares worksheet and Mothers $1,167/month income.
Mother subsequently filed to amend or alter the child support modification, as Father did not ask for a modification in his petition and Father did not have a “significant variance” in income. The trial court considered the fact that Father likely made more than $10,000/month at the time of the original child support order, but there was no evidence to show that the parties child support agreement contemplated any number other than Father earning $10,000/month. The court ruled that “it could not look behind the 2004 decree” and therefore there was not a 15% significant variance between $10,000/month and $9,876/month.
Father appealed the trial court decision and sought to lower his monthly payments based upon his disability. The appellate court found that the trial court erred in determining if there was a “significant variance” in Father’s income. The court stated that Father provided income tax returns from 2004 stating his income at the time of the initial child support order. The trial court failed to use Father’s actual income at the time of the order to determine if the amount of Father’s income in 2004 was at least 15% higher than his disability income.
The appellate court vacated the trial court’s judgment and remanded the case for a hearing to determine Father’s actual income in 2004 and whether the change in income between the 2004 income and disability income meets the significant variance standard under Tennessee law.
No. E2009-02206-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Nov. 5, 2010).
See original opinion for exact language. Legal citations omitted.
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