Welcome to the YoungWilliams Research & Case Law Library.  Use the filters below to select categories of interest to you.  Currently our Library consists of academic and government research articles and reports from around the country, federal opinions, and case law from states in which our full service child support projects are located: Colorado, Kansas, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Wyoming.  Sign up to receive updates by clicking the blue  box at the left of the page.

Disclaimer:  YoungWilliams does not endorse the reports or opinions expressed by non-YoungWilliams authors, nor do we endorse the entities that initially released or published the materials posted on our website.

 

Research & Case Law

In re Marriage of Flanders (Colorado 2022)

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February 2022

A caretaker, who receives parental responsibilities in a dependency proceeding, doesn’t necessarily qualify as a psychological parent for the purposes of child support. A dependency order gave a grandmother parenting responsibilities for her grandchild and ordered the child’s parents to pay support. After beginning regular visitation, the father filed to modify the order and requested the grandmother be considered a psychological parent who could be ordered to pay support, citing In re Parental Responsibilities Concerning A.C.H., 2019 COA 43 (Co. Ct. App. 2019).

PDF icon In re Marriage of Flanders

Nowell v. Stewart (Mississippi 2022)

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February 2022

The modification of a child support order requires an unforeseen change of circumstances. The parent requesting the modification bears the burden of proof. The mother filed to modify child support based on the increased cost of the child’s special needs. After a lengthy proceeding, the chancery court enterd an order increasing support. The chancery court found the child’s needs had increased and had extensive medical expenses. The chancery court made the modification retroactive and entered a judgment.

PDF icon Nowell v. Stewart

In the Matter of the Parentage of N.P. (Kansas 2022)

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February 2022

A parent must move to set aside an order due to inadvertence or excusable neglect must do so within a year. At issue in this case is a child support order entered on September 24, 2018. On February 5, 2020, the father moved to set aside the order claiming mistake or inadvertence. The district court denied the motion. First, a claim of mistake or inadvertence had to be made with one year. The filing was outside this timeframe.

PDF icon inreparentageofnp.pdf

Denham v. Denham (Mississippi 2022)

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February 2022

The Mississippi child support guidelines base support on a parent’s current income. In this divorce case, the final decree ordered guideline support plus an amount for extra-curricular activities. The father appealed the divorce decree, arguing errors in the calculation of his income, the award of health insurance, and the additional money for extra-curricular activities.

PDF icon Denham v. Denham

The Regular Receipt of Child Support: 2017

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January 2022

The results of the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2018 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) tells a story about the receipt of child support in 2017. Specifically, this report analyzes the data on who received support, the amount received, and the frequency of receipt. 

PDF icon The Regular Receipt of Child Support: 2017

Do Carrots Work Better than Sticks? Results from the National Child Support Noncustodial Parent Employment Demonstration

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January 2022

The results of the Child Support Noncustodial Parent Employment Demonstration (CSPED) grant may have been modest, but these types of programs will move the child support program forward. CSPED tested the effectiveness of alternative methods of enforcing child support orders: adjusting orders, reducing punitive enforcement, and offering employment services to parents.

Roth v. Roth (North Carolina 2022)

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January 2022

The North Carolina child support guidelines define gross income from self-employment or operation of a business as gross receipts minus ordinary and necessary business expenses required for self-employment or business operation. The father requested a downward modification of his child support based on the parent’s custody schedule. The final order modified support, upwardly. The father appealed, arguing the court incorrectly determined his income.

PDF icon Roth v. Roth

Parental Resp Conc ACB (Colorado 2022)

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January 2022

Due Process requires appointment of counsel for indigent parents when a governmental agency initiates a contempt proceeding and jail is a possible remedy. The child support office filed a contempt proceeding against the father. The petition sought a jail term for the father, which would be suspended based on payment of child support. Throughout the proceeding, the father notified the court he had no ability to pay support and requested appointed counsel. The trial court denied his request and found him in contempt. The father appealed. 

PDF icon Parental Resp Conc ACB

Barus v. Coffey (North Carolina 2022)

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January 2022

A motion to modify child support is sufficient if it contains allegations in line with statutory requirements for a presumptive modification. The trial court dismissed the father’s motion to modify child support for failure to state a claim finding the motion didn’t provide the mother with sufficient notice. The father appealed and the appellate court reversed and remanded.

PDF icon Barus v. Coffey

Promising Innovations and Pilots in the Child Support Field

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December 2021

The design of the child support program fails parents who are willing but unable to pay support. Several states have implemented innovative programs designed to address this issue. Highlighted programs include the San Francisco Child Support Debt Relief Pilot, Behavioral Interventions for Child Support Services – Texas Start Smart, Child Support Noncustodial Parent Employment Demonstration (CSPED) Evaluation, Colorado’s Department of Human Services’ Division of Child Support Service Two-Generation Approach, and the Families Forward Demonstration Grant.

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