Opinion ID: 2608692
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Father's Voluntary Increase of Debt.

Text: To warrant modification in the amount of child support already awarded there must be a substantial change of circumstances which materially affects the existing welfare of the child and which must have occurred since the prior adjudication where child support was originally awarded. Spingola v. Spingola, 91 N.M. 737, 580 P.2d 958 (1978). Lekvold raised two factual issues bearing on this point. He claimed that the purchase of the house and the consequent financial burden of making the payments was a substantial change of circumstances affecting his ability to pay child support. The other change that he relied upon is that the ability of Mrs. Henderson to support the children had increased considerably so that she could afford the additional outlay of money to make up for his reduced payments. The latter point was hotly contested by Mrs. Henderson who claimed there was no evidence in the record to support this charge. We discuss this latter dispute elsewhere, and turn our attention to the additional burden of the voluntarily-incurred increase for house payments. The only finding of the trial court that could have any bearing on this issue was one which stated that Lekvold has been unable to pay the substantial indebtedness of the parties and maintain his obligation to pay child support. The only additional debt mentioned in the record, that Lekvold was not obligated to pay at the time of the divorce, is the $400 to $500 in debts discovered after the divorce was granted. The obligation of Lekvold to make payments on the house was set out in the decree. There is no change of circumstances indicated as regards this debt. His wages had increased by $3,000 up to $21,000 per year since the divorce was granted. The record falls short of being convincing that, as a single man, there was such a burden on his finances that he was near starvation and was entitled to virtually abandon his solemn obligation to support his children. Although a trial court should, and did here, consider the various circumstances that bear on both parents' ability to provide needed support, see Spingola, supra, both parents still have the duty to support their minor children. Petition of Quintana, 83 N.M. 772, 497 P.2d 1404 (1972); § 40-4-7(B)(3), N.M.S.A. 1978. We are faced then with the issue of whether this duty is decreased when a parent voluntarily assumes an excessive financial burden only for, as Lekvold testified, his convenience and investment. We hold that it is not. A case nearly on point is Bergh v. Bergh, 160 So.2d 145 (Fla.App. 1964). There the father's changed financial condition was due in substantial part to his voluntary agreement to purchase from his ex-wife her interest in their jointly-owned property. In Bergh the Florida appeals court upheld the trial court's refusal to decrease the child support obligations. This is the general rule. See Annot., 89 A.L.R.2d 7 (1963). We recognize that any change in child support is a matter within the discretion of the trial court and that our review is limited to examining the record only to determine if the trial court abused its discretion by fixing an amount contrary to all reason. See Spingola, supra . We hold that where Lekvold's salary has increased and the increased burden on his finances is the result of an obligation he incurred voluntarily, it was an abuse of discretion for the trial court to reduce his child support obligations to such an extent.