Child Support Enforcement - Sarpy County Nebraska

Wilson v. Wilson, 19 Neb. App. 103, ____ N.W.2d ____ (July 2011)
Facts: Parties divorced Oct. 2009. Decree split marital property and required Wife to vacate
marital residence by 10-31-11. No appeal taken. Wife failed to vacate and months later
Husband filed action ‗to determine amounts due under decree.‘ He claimed $30,000 in extra
costs he incurred due to Wife not moving out. The DCt sustained his motion and in addition
found Wife in contempt for failure to vacate. Wife appealed, claiming the court in effect modified
the terms of the decree‘s property settlement agreement without having filed for a modification.
Ct. of Appeals agreed, and reversed that portion of the order. It found that there was no
ambiguity or lack of clarity concerning what was actually ordered in the decree, and accordingly
there was nothing for the court to clarify. Held: Husband must file complaint to modify if he
doesn‘t like the terms of the decree. He cannot modify the decree by a back door approach.
A trial court retains jurisdiction to determine the amounts due for alimony and child
support and to enforce its prior judgment, and included in that power to enforce its
judgment is power to determine any amounts due under the initial decree.
A party seeking to modify a dissolution decree must show a material change of
circumstances which occurred subsequent to the entry of the original decree or a
previous modification which was not contemplated when the prior order was entered.
Modifying the amounts awarded to a parent in the decree, without following the
appropriate procedures for bringing and resolving an application to modify the
decree, was not appropriate.
Multiple Families
Emery v. Moffett, 269 Neb. 867, 697 N.W.2d 249 (2005)
There is no precise mathematical formula for calculation child support when
subsequent children are involved; the calculation is left to the discretion of the court
as long as the court considers the obligations to both families and the income of the
other parent of the subsequent children.
Parenting Act of 2008
The Nebraska bar association has produced a PDF brochure on the 2008 Parenting Act.
It is available at: www.nebar.com/pdfs/education/2008/bro.parent-act010308.pdf
It is crucial for child support IV-D attorneys to be aware that this act does NOT normally
affect the work we do. LB 554, which became the Parenting Act, states in section 5 (2) that “A
county attorney or authorized attorney shall not participate in the development of or court review
of a parenting plan under the Parenting Act.”
However…
State ex rel. Amanda M. v. Justin T., 279 Neb. 273, 777 N.W.2d 565 (Jan. 2010)
The Parenting Act may be utilized in state initiated paternity cases when both
parents are parties to the paternity or child support action. See Neb. Rev. Stat. §
43-2924 (2).
When the issue of custody is raised in a state initiated paternity/child support case,
the district court is required to develop a parenting plan which ―shall serve the best
interests of the child.‖
Before awarding parents joint custody of a minor child, due process requires that the
trial court hold a hearing on the issue.
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