Litigation

Where the payor spouse cannot demonstrate a change in circumstances, the court will not grant a request for a downward modification, even if the failure to grant that request may result in the payor's filing for bankruptcy. Twomey v. Twomey, Docket: CUM-05-141, Supreme Judi-cial Court of Maine, Dec. 21, 2005.

The husband and wife were divorced, and the husband agreed to pay child support in the amount of $2000 per month for the first 3 months, and $1200 per month thereafter. Under the child support guidelines, the amount of child support should have been $490 per month. Four years after the divorce, the husband moved for a downward modification of child support and unilaterally reduced his payment to $600 per month. He argued that he only agreed to pay child support outside the guidelines because he believed that a new business he was starting would draw between $120,000 and $250,00 per year as compared with his salary of $60,000 at his former employment. He further argued that the business failed, and he had to seek employment drawing a salary of $58,500 per year. Consequently, he would be forced to file for bankruptcy if he was required to continue to pay child support as required under the order. The wife was an unemployed full-time student seeking to become a teacher. The trial court denied the husband's motion for a downward modification, and the husband appealed. The appellate court affirmed and held that a party seeking to decrease the amount of child support in an existing support order must prove that the decrease is necessary due to a substantial change in circumstances that either reduces the payor's ability to pay or the payee's need to receive. In this case, the husband's debt load was irrelevant because his salary was substantially the same as it was at the time of the divorce. It further held that the debt load was the sole responsibility of the husband and it was the failure of his business, not his child support obligation, that pushed him to consider bankruptcy.