Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 79A02-1407-DR-515| May 11, 2015 Page 1 of 11

MEMORANDUM DECISION

Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), this 

Memorandum Decision shall not be regarded as 

precedent or cited before any court except for the 

purpose of establishing the defense of res judicata, 

collateral estoppel, or the law of the case.

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT

Marcel Katz

Law Offices of Marcel Katz

Lafayette, Indiana

I N T H E

COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

Paul B. Deignan,

Appellant-Respondent,

v.

Shawn E. Deignan,

Appellee-Petitioner, 

May 11, 2015

Court of Appeals Case No.

79A02-1407-DR-515

Appeal from the Tippecanoe 

Superior Court

The Honorable Les A. Meade, Judge

Cause No. 79D05-1010-DR-6

Robb, Judge.

Case Summary and Issue

[1] Paul Deignan (“Father”) and Shawn Deignan (“Mother”) were divorced in 

2007. Mother was granted custody of their three minor children, and Father 

was ordered to pay child support. In 2013, Father lost his job and subsequently
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filed a Petition to Modify Child Support. The trial court denied his petition. 

Father raises one issue on appeal: whether the trial court erred in finding him 

to be voluntarily underemployed without just cause and therefore declining to 

modify his child support obligation. Concluding the trial court clearly erred in 

finding Father was voluntarily underemployed without just cause and imputing

income to him, we reverse and remand.

Facts and Procedural History

[2] Father’s and Mother’s marriage was dissolved on April 12, 2007. Custody of 

their three minor children was granted to Mother, and Father was ordered to 

pay $430 per week in child support. In 2010, Father’s child support obligation 

was modified to $301 per week due to the emancipation of the oldest child.

[3] Father has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, a bachelor’s degree 

in electrical engineering, and a PhD in mechanical engineering. He served 

twenty years in the United States military, making use of his education during 

his service. At the time of the divorce, Father worked at L3 Communications 

in Granville, Texas, as a Multi Discipline Engineer earning $115,000 per year. 

On July 22, 2013, Father lost his job with L3 Communications.1 At that time, 

he was current on his child support. 

 

1 Both parties agree that the loss of Father’s employment was through no fault of his own.
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[4] On July 29, 2013, Father filed a Petition to Modify Child Support. The trial 

court conducted a hearing over two dates on Father’s petition. Between the 

date of the filing of his petition and the date of the first hearing, Father was able 

to find part-time employment as an adjunct math professor at three universities

in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. This part time employment paid approximately 

$34,000 per year. At the first hearing, Father appeared telephonically. He 

indicated that he was applying for “every job” in the Dallas-Fort Worth area

but did not anticipate his employment situation would improve due to the state 

of his industry. Transcript at 40. He was not willing to relocate because his 

girlfriend of eight years was a tenured professor at a university in the DallasFort Worth area, and they resided together in a home she owned. Mother, 

appearing pro se, did not cross-examine Father. The trial court declined to 

allow Father to appear telephonically at the second hearing and although his 

counsel appeared, Father did not appear in court in person. Therefore, no 

further evidence about Father’s job search or employment prospects was heard. 

The trial court summarized its recollection of the testimony from the earlier 

hearing:

What I also recall from the testimony previously was that [Father] is 

not pursuing employment in the same area, same field, outside of the 

[Dallas-Fort Worth] area because he has a new relationship that is 

apparently more important to him. . . . So, the question I would have 

is why would they – why would [h]e be allowed to [be] under 

employed just because he wants to maintain a relationship with 

someone whom he is not married to.

Tr. at 84-85.
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[5] In its order denying Father’s petition, the trial court found that Father “is 

voluntarily underemployed without just cause. His wish to pursue a long-term 

relationship with his new partner does not diminish his duty to support his 

children at a level of his potential income based on his education and 

experience.” Appellant’s Appendix at 31. Accordingly, the trial court ordered 

his child support to remain at the previously ordered amount.

Discussion and Decision

I. Standard of Review

[6] At the outset, we note that Mother has failed to file an appellee’s brief. “In 

such a case, we need not undertake the burden of developing arguments for the 

appellee.” Painter v. Painter, 773 N.E.2d 281, 282 (Ind. Ct. App. 2002). 

Instead, we apply a less stringent standard of review and may reverse the trial 

court if the appellant establishes prima facie error. Id. Prima facie is defined as 

“at first sight, on first appearance, or on the face of it.” Id. (citation omitted).

[7] “We place a strong emphasis on trial court discretion in determining child 

support obligations” and will not set aside a decision on a modification unless it 

is clearly erroneous. J.M. v. D.A., 935 N.E.2d 1235, 1238 (Ind. Ct. App. 2010) 

(citation and quotation omitted). “Findings are clearly erroneous only when 

the record contains no facts to support them either directly or by inference[, and 

a] judgment is clearly erroneous if it relies on an incorrect legal standard.” Id.

(citation and quotation omitted). A finding or conclusion is clearly erroneous if 

it leaves us with the firm conviction that a mistake has been made. Id. 
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II. Modification of Child Support

[8] Modification of child support is guided by Indiana Code section 31-16-8-

1(b)(1), which states, “Except as provided in [IC 31-16-8-2], modification may 

be made only: (1) upon a showing of changed circumstances so substantial and 

continuing as to make the terms unreasonable . . . .” Father’s petition alleged 

that he had lost his job and requested modification of child support to reflect his 

reduced income.

2 The trial court found that Father was not entitled to a 

modification because he was voluntarily underemployed without just cause in 

that he would not look outside his community for higher-paying employment 

due to his “wish to pursue a long-term relationship with his new partner.” App. 

at 31. The trial court therefore determined that Father’s child support 

obligation should be based upon his potential income. The trial court imputed 

income of $115,000 to Father based upon his past earnings and declined to 

modify his support obligation.

[9] Child Support Guideline 3(A)(3) provides that “[i]f a court finds a parent is 

voluntarily unemployed or underemployed without just cause, child support 

shall be calculated based on a determination of potential income.” Potential 

income is derived from considering the parent’s employment potential and 

probable earnings level, which in turn is based on the parent’s work history and

occupational qualifications, prevailing job opportunities, and earnings levels in 

 

2

Father filed his petition to modify pro se. He was later represented by counsel.
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the community. Child Supp. G. 3(A)(3). The Commentary to this Guideline 

elaborates:

When a parent has some history of working and is capable of 

entering the work force, but without just cause voluntarily fails or refuses 

to work or to be employed in a capacity in keeping with his or 

her capabilities, such a parent’s potential income shall be included in 

the gross income of that parent. The amount to be attributed as 

potential income in such a case may be the amount that the evidence 

demonstrates he or she was capable of earning in the past. . . . 

Discretion must be exercised on an individual case basis to determine 

whether under the circumstances there is just cause to attribute 

potential income to a particular unemployed or underemployed parent.

Commentary to Child Supp. G. 3(A) (emphasis added).

[10] “The Child Support Guidelines permit imputation [of income] to discourage 

parents—both the payer-non-custodial parent and the recipient-custodial 

parent—from avoiding significant child support obligations by becoming 

unemployed or taking a lower paying job.” Sandlin v. Sandlin, 972 N.E.2d 371, 

375 (Ind. Ct. App. 2012). “The [G]uidelines attempt to discourage such efforts 

by giving the trial court wide discretion to impute potential income to a parent 

when the trial court is convinced the parent’s unemployment or 

underemployment has been contrived for the sole purpose of evading support 

obligations.” Gilpin v. Gilpin, 664 N.E.2d 766, 767-68 (Ind. Ct. App. 1996). 

While some parents may become unemployed or underemployed in an 

attempt to relieve themselves of significant child support obligations, 

legitimate reasons may also exist for parents to leave employment or 

take a lower paying job, and child support orders are not to be used as 

a tool to promote a society where all work to their full economic 

potential or where parents are forced to base their career decisions 

strictly upon the size of potential paychecks.
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Homsher v. Homsher, 678 N.E.2d 1159, 1164 (Ind. Ct. App. 1997). 

[11] It appears that the trial court’s order is not based upon a determination that 

Father’s career choices were made to avoid paying child support or upon a 

consideration of his credentials, past earnings, and prevailing opportunities, but

upon the application of an incorrect legal standard for what constitutes 

“voluntary underemployment without just cause.”

[12] At the first hearing, when Father testified that he was unwilling to move in 

order to continue his eight-year relationship with his girlfriend, the trial court 

stated, “But you aren’t married, so it’s a decision on your part to stay in that 

location.” Tr. at 41. The trial court seemed to believe that because he is not 

married to his girlfriend, Father was required to go wherever he could find a job 

paying the same or similar amount as his previous job. However, “[i]t is not 

our function . . . to approve or disapprove of the lifestyle of [the] parties or their 

career choices and the means by which they choose to discharge their 

obligations in general.” In re Paternity of Buehler, 576 N.E.2d 1354, 1356 (Ind. 

Ct. App. 1991). That Father and his partner are not married does not 

necessarily mean that their relationship cannot be a legitimate reason for Father 

to limit the geographical scope of his job search to the community in which 

they have lived for several years. We also note that their community is DallasFort Worth, a major metropolitan area which presumably has many 

opportunities. 
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[13] Moreover, as noted above, “the Guidelines do not require or encourage parents 

to make career decisions based strictly upon the size of potential paychecks, nor 

do the Guidelines require that parents work to their full economic 

potential.” Sandlin, 972 N.E.2d at 375. Even setting aside the trial court’s 

erroneous discounting of Father’s non-marital relationship, it appears the trial 

court may have believed that Father was simply required to move, period, if 

that was what was required to continue earning at his previous level. The trial 

court asked Father’s counsel at the second hearing, “He has no obligation to 

relocate; that’s your understanding of the law?” Tr. at 85. When counsel 

affirmed that he did believe that to be the case, the trial court asked counsel to 

submit authority supporting that position and stated, “That certainly isn’t my 

understanding of a father’s obligations.” Tr. at 86. 

[14] We can find no support in the law for the proposition that a parent can or 

should be required to move in order to continue earning at his or her highest 

potential or risk being ordered to pay child support based on imputed income. 

In Abouhalkah v. Sharps, 795 N.E.2d 488 (Ind. Ct. App. 2003), the trial court 

found that a father who voluntarily left his employment as a chemist in part 

because his department was being relocated to another state was voluntarily 

underemployed when he started his own business earning less than half his 

previous salary. We held that where there was no evidence or finding that 

father left his higher paying job to avoid paying child support and it was 

uncontradicted that he had sought comparable employment but had been 

unsuccessful, the trial court incorrectly determined he was voluntarily 
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underemployed. Id. at 491-92. “A parent who chooses to leave his 

employment rather than move hundreds of miles away from his children is not 

voluntarily unemployed or underemployed. . . . To punish such a parent by 

requiring higher child support than the guidelines require is neither good law 

nor good policy.” Id. at 492. 

[15] Abouhalkah is not directly on point, as here, Father was involuntarily terminated 

from his higher-paying position, and he was already living away from his 

children.

3 Nonetheless, we agree with the general principle that it is neither 

good law nor good policy to require a parent to move from a life he has created 

in pursuit only of money or to punish him for failing to do so if there is no 

indication the parent is making choices based on the desire to avoid paying

child support. The trial court has broad discretion to impute income to a parent 

so the parent cannot evade a support obligation. Sexton v. Sedlak, 946 N.E.2d 

1177, 1189 (Ind. Ct. App. 2011), trans. denied. But when a parent is 

unemployed or underemployed for a legitimate purpose other than avoiding 

child support, there are no grounds for imputing income. Trabucco v. Trabucco, 

944 N.E.2d 544, 550 (Ind. Ct. App. 2011), trans. denied.

[16] The trial court did not find, and there is no evidence on which to base any such 

finding, that Father’s decision to take lower-paying employment was for the 

 

3

It appears that Mother was complicit in this living situation, as Father moved to Texas for his job in 

January 2006 with Mother’s agreement and promise that she and the children would follow in May 2006 

after the oldest child graduated from high school. Instead, Mother filed for dissolution in March 2006 

“without giving him advanced notice . . . .” App. at 27.
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sole purpose of evading his child support obligation. Therefore, the trial court 

clearly erred in basing its decision that Father was voluntarily underemployed 

without just cause solely on the fact that he wished to maintain his longtime, 

albeit non-marital, relationship and to remain in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

[17] As the trial court noted in its order, there is no dispute that Father’s 

employment with L3 Communications ended through no fault of his own. 

Father testified that he had applied for “every job” in the Dallas-Fort Worth 

area but had been unable to find employment commensurate with that he lost. 

Thus, he took three lower-paying adjunct professorships in order to earn some

income but was continuing to search for higher-paying opportunities. This 

speaks to his willingness to work and his desire to use his education and skills in 

a meaningful way. His income has fallen from $115,000 to approximately 

$34,000. Based on Father’s child support worksheet, his child support 

obligation would fall from $301 per week to $120 based on his actual current 

income. App. at 19.

[18] Father’s evidence meets his burden of proving a substantial and continuing 

change of circumstances making the existing child support order unreasonable. 

See Hedrick v. Gilbert, 17 N.E.3d 321, 327 (Ind. Ct. App. 2014) (“The party 

seeking the modification bears the burden of establishing that the statutory 

requirements have been met.”). The burden of going forward, then, fell to 

Mother to show otherwise. However, Mother did not cross-examine Father to 

ascertain more specifics about his job search – for instance, what “every job” 

entailed. Nor did she offer any evidence to the trial court that Father’s 
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testimony was not an accurate depiction of his job search, job opportunities in 

the area, or his financial situation. She has also failed to file an appellee’s brief 

with this court responding to Father’s allegations of error on appeal and Father 

is therefore only required to show prima facie error in the trial court’s decision. 

[19] Based upon the undisputed facts and circumstances, Father is actively seeking 

work in his community but has been unsuccessful, his income has diminished 

significantly, and the existing support order is unreasonable, as it is more than 

twice what he would be ordered to pay based on his current income. We 

therefore hold the trial court erroneously determined that Father is voluntarily 

underemployed, there are no grounds for imputing income to him, and the trial 

court’s decision to deny Father’s petition to modify was against the logic and 

effect of the facts and circumstances before it.

Conclusion

[20] The trial court clearly erred in finding Father voluntarily underemployed 

without just cause and imputing income to him for purposes of calculating child 

support. We therefore reverse the trial court’s order denying Father’s petition 

to modify child support and remand this case to the trial court with instructions 

to enter a modified child support order based upon his actual income of 

$34,000.

[21] Reversed and remanded.

Bailey, J., and Brown, J., concur.