Court Opinion

ID: 9697860
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-25 19:34:45.228172+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:20:36.243016
License: Public Domain

CLIFFORD, Justice,
with whom WATHEN, C.J. and ROBERTS, J., join, dissenting.
I respectfully dissent. The decision of the trial court in the area of child support is entitled to great deference. Hebert v. Hebert, 475 A.2d 422, 425 (Me.1984). Under the child support guidelines, the trial court can consider the earning capacity as opposed to the present income of one of the parties when that party voluntarily becomes or remains unemployed or underemployed. 19 M.R.S.A. § 311(5)(D) (Supp. 1992).3 Consideration of earning capacity as opposed to present income is not mandatory, however. Section 311(5)(D) provides that gross income may include earning capacity, if the party voluntarily becomes unemployed. This language is in keeping with the broad discretion vested in the court on the application of, and deviation from, the child support guidelines. See LeBlanc v. LeBlanc, 597 A.2d 62, 63-64 (Me.1991).
Had Rich stopped working for the primary purpose of avoiding her child support obligation, then it may have constituted an abuse of discretion for the court not to have considered her earning capacity. See Smith v. Smith, 419 A.2d 1035, 1038 (Me.1980) (voluntary unemployment for primary purpose of reducing alimony does not constitute change in circumstances justifying alimony reduction). Such is not the case here, however. Rich entered college to get a degree to better support herself and her children in the future, not to avoid her support obligations. Consideration of Rich’s earning capacity while enrolled as a student, as opposed to her very limited actual income, was not mandated by the child support guidelines. I find no abuse of the trial court’s considerable discretion, and I would affirm the judgment.

. 19 M.R.S.A. § 311(5)(D) (Supp.1992) provides in pertinent part:
Gross income may include the difference between the amount a party is earning and that party’s earning capacity when the party voluntarily becomes or remains unemployed or underemployed, if sufficient evidence is introduced concerning a party's current earning capacity.
(Emphasis added.)