Opinion ID: 1450901
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Does section 452.455.4 bar Father from filing a motion to modify?

Text: Section 452.455.4 provides that a parent who owes more than $10,000 in child support arrearage must post bond for the amount of child support due, or the custodial parents' attorney fees, before filing a motion for modification of child custody or support. [10] Mother asserts that because Father owed more than $10,000 in arrearages at the time of filing, he was prohibited by section 452.455.4 from filing a petition for modification of child custody or support without posting a bond. She argues that the trial court, therefore, erred in granting relief to Father. If, as Mother claims, Father did in fact owe more than $10,000 in child support arrearages, the plain language of section 452.455.4 would prohibit him from filing a motion to modify. [11] The statute says that the bond shall be in the amount of past child support owed as ascertained by the division of child support enforcement or reasonable legal fees of the custodial parent, whichever is greater, before the filing of the petition. Id. The statute, however, provides no opportunity for the noncustodial parent to be heard as to the amount owed, and, thus, as a matter of simple due process, there must be a hearing to determine whether the amount of arrearages is more than $10,000. Article I, section 14 of the Missouri Constitution also necessitates such a hearing. Article I, section 14 provides that the courts of justice shall be open to all. This means that the key to the courthouse door cannot be in the hands of an enforcement agency. Kilmer v. Mun, 17 S.W.3d 545. Father cannot be barred from judicial relief by a factual determination made by the division of child support in the absence of an opportunity for judicial review of the issue. In this case, there was an initial judicial determination of child support by the trial court in the original consent judgment. To determine whether a parent is barred from requesting modification of this judgment under section 452.455.4, however, the trial court considering the modification must be able to review the issue of arrears. Even though the statute purports to leave to the division of child support enforcement the determination of the amount of support owing, the statute also says or reasonable legal fees of the custodial parent, whichever is greater. Section 452.455.4. The language of this provision belies the fact that the division of child support has no way of ascertaining the reasonable legal fees of the custodial parent in this situation. Moreover, the division has no authority to make such a determination. Due process requires that the amount of child support owing, or the reasonable legal fees of the custodial parent, whichever is greater, are facts that must be subject to judicial review. In other words, it is the trial court that has the authority ultimately to determine the amount of child support arrearages a party owes in order to determine whether that party is barred from filing a petition to modify under section 452.455.4 without posting a bond. If the amount of arrears is greater than $10,000, the trial court then must determine what the custodial parent's reasonable legal fees would be in order to determine the amount of the bond required by the statute. In this case, neither Father nor Mother requested a recalculation of arrearages in their pleadings. [12] The result, apparently, is that neither party presented evidence at the modification hearing regarding the amount of arrearages owed by Father. There is some indication in the record that Father's time with the children, as well as changes in the incomes of both parents, may have justified a reduction in the amount of child support due. Without specific evidence regarding the arrearage calculation, however, the trial court's conclusion that Father owed nothing in child support arrearage is unsupported by the evidence. Without sufficient evidence to determine the amount of arrearages owed by Father, this Court cannot determine whether Father's motion to modify would be barred by section 452.455.4 in the absence of a bond. Because it is unclear from the record whether section 452.455.4 applies, this Court cannot consider Father's challenge to the constitutional validity of the statute. The challenge to the statute, at this point, is not ripe. On this record, the Court will vacate the judgment of the circuit court and remand this case for a new hearing. If the trial court determines, after hearing, that there is $10,000 or less in child support arrearage, the statute is no impediment to Father's request for relief. If, on the other hand, the arrearage is more than $10,000, the circuit court will be faced with the constitutional question Father attempted to assert here.