Court Opinion

ID: 9723991
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 10:40:25.319432+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:24:53.964932
License: Public Domain

ON PETITION TO TRANSFER
DeBRULER, Justice,
dissenting.
The task of reviewing the trial court order modifying the terms of the original child support order was correctly approached by the First District Court of Appeals when it said:
“On appeal, a modification of a support order is reviewable only for abuse of discretion. Tucker v. Tucker, (1980) Ind. App., 406 N.E.2d 321. However, it is clearly an abuse of discretion to modify a support order when there has been no showing of changed circumstances so substantial or continuing as to warrant a change in the support order. Loeb v. Loeb, (1969) 252 Ind. 96, 245 N.E.2d 831.”
And I find that the Court of Appeals correctly evaluated the evidence tending to show changed circumstances when it said:
“The agreement before us contains provisions which anticipated and settled the liabilities of the parties upon most of the current circumstances. Emancipation and enrollment in college have been dealt with according to its terms. The support payments of $500.00 have continued to date, as Megan has yet to graduate from high school or to become emancipated. The apparently unforeseen circumstance of Megan’s living with her father does not render the terms unreasonable, especially in light of the fact that there has been no change of custody and Megan might return to Barbara’s care at any time. Furthermore, William has not shown that either his or Barbara’s financial condition has changed so substantially as to make the terms of the agreement unreasonable. Thus, we are constrained to conclude the trial court abused its discretion in modifying the terms of the original child support order.”
At the heart of these matters is the plan of the parties to have their youngest daughter, of high school age, reside with her father, with the mother still retaining legal care and custody of her. This is a very minor and insubstantial change in conditions under the circumstances of this case which *164include a specific grant to the father in the original decree of the right “to ... have such children with him for extended visitations; and a specific assignment to him of the duty to continue support payments during periods of extended visitations. The trial court’s radical modification of the child support order was properly reversed by the First District as an abuse of discretion.