rayan Morath v. Abby Abbinante

Lawrenceburg, Indiana family law lawyers represented the parties in a child support dispute.



Father and his ex-wife, Abby Abbinante (Mother), divorced in 2017. Both proceeding pro se, they agreed to a decree of dissolution that provided for joint custody, equal parenting time, and "no support" for the couple's two sons. App. Vol. II, p. 20. The dissolution court approved the agreement.



Six years later, the State petitioned to modify child support,[1] alleging that a substantial and continuing change in circumstances had occurred, and that more than a year had elapsed since the last support order (the divorce decree). By this time, Father's income had nearly doubled, increasing from roughly $1,142.00 to $2,115.74 per week. Mother's income had also increased, but more modestly, growing from approximately $403.00 to $624.80 per week.



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At a hearing on the petition to modify, Father argued that modification was not adequately justified under the Indiana Code. He downplayed his increased income and urged the trial court to leave unchanged the divorce decree's provision of "no support." Id. at 20. But the trial court rejected Father's reliance on the decree, explaining that the right to child support belongs to children and cannot be waived by parents.[2] The court then found Father's significant change in income to be "a substantial and continuing change in circumstances" that justified the modification. Id. at 12.



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See MacLafferty v. MacLafferty, 829 N.E.2d 938, 942 (Ind. 2005) (holding that when change in income serves as the sole changed circumstance, it must either create a difference in the support obligation of at least twenty percent or converge with other factors to create changed circumstances). But because he made no such argument, Father has waived the issue. See Thacker v. Wentzel, 797 N.E.2d 342, 345 (Ind.Ct.App. 2003).



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FAMILY LAW. CHILD SUPPORT MODIFICATION. The case involves an appeal by a father against the modification of his child support obligation, where he argues the trial court erred in finding a substantial change in circumstances due to his increased income, which justified the adjustment from $0 to $161 per week.



FAMILY LAW. WAIVER OF CHILD SUPPORT. The court addressed whether parents can waive their children's right to child support in a divorce decree, affirming that such a waiver is prohibited as the right belongs to the children.



Key Phrases Child support modification. Substantial change in circumstances. Divorce decree waiver. Increased income. Right to child support.

Affirmed