Sample Question 5

Father and Mother divorced one year ago after a 14-year marriage. At the time of the divorce, Mother and Father lived in State A. They were both 39 years old, each had a college education, and they had two children, aged 10 and 12.

As part of the divorce decree, the court awarded custody of the two children to Mother. The court also ordered Father to pay Mother $2,000 per month in child support. In addition, the court ordered Father to pay Mother $500 per month in spousal support for five years. After their property was divided, they each ended up with $50,000 and a car.

Mother continued living in State A with the children. Mother had been working full time for $28,000 per year at a daycare center prior to the divorce. Five months after the divorce, she had a heart attack. This forced her to cut back to three-quarter-time work, resulting in a pay reduction to $21,000 per year. Her doctor recommends that she not resume full-time work, because full-time work and caring for the children and the home would be too stressful.

For the first six months after the divorce, Father paid Mother the full amount he owed; but, for the past six months, Father has paid Mother nothing. Three months ago, Father was terminated from his $100,000-per-year job because of company downsizing. He received a lump sum severance payment of $50,000. Father decided to move to State B, in part because he hoped he could avoid paying Mother and in part because the job prospects were better there. He transferred all his bank accounts to State B. Although he has had several interviews and his prospects are good for finding a job comparable to the one he had, he does not yet have another job.

Mother has brought an action in State B court to collect child support and spousal support from Father. She claims that the spousal support obligation should be increased to $1,000 per month because she is in poor health. She also asks that the spousal support be extended for an additional five years.

Father claims that the State A child support order is no longer effective and cannot be enforced because he has moved to State B. In the alternative, he claims that his child support obligation should be reduced from $2,000 to $1,000 per month because of his unemployment. In addition, he asks that this modification be made six months retroactive. Father also opposes any increase in his spousal support obligation.

Both State A and State B are in compliance with federal law concerning the enforcement of child support orders.

1. Is State B required to recognize the State A child support order? Explain.

2. Does the State B court have jurisdiction to modify Father's child support obligation? Explain.

3. Without regard to jurisdictional issues, how should a court rule on Father's requests to modify his child support obligation? Explain.

4. Without regard to jurisdictional issues, how should the State B court rule on Mother's request for an increase in and extension of the spousal support obligations? Explain.