Court Opinion

ID: 9729569
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 14:42:58.324471+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:25:59.707024
License: Public Domain

SULLIVAN, Judge,
concurring.
In Part II the majority approves of the trial court’s denial of the child support modification petition for the reason that Support Guideline 4 provides that child support orders may be modified “only if there is a substantial and continuing change of circumstances.” The majority then concludes that because no changed circumstances were demonstrated, the trial court’s ruling was proper.
Although not effective until July 1, 1990, and therefore not applicable to the case before us, I.C. 31 — 6—6.1—13(f) now permits support modification solely upon grounds that the original support order differs by more than twenty percent from the amount indicated by the guidelines.
I do not interpret the majority decision today to hold that if the petition for modification here involved were filed after July 1, 1990, the trial court would be justified in “declining to calculate a revised amount by the application of the Guidelines.” Opinion at 168.
Any and all petitions filed after July 1, 1990, seeking modification of a support order issued prior to October 1, 1989, the effective date of the Guidelines, require calculation of “a revised amount by application of the Guidelines.” Any and all petitions filed seeking modification of a support order issued in consideration of the Guidelines are entitled to favorable consideration if the revised calculation reflects a deviation of twenty percent or more.
Subject to this caveat, I concur.