Paternity: Jacob O'Sullivan v. Kelsey Sever

CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedSeptember 16, 2025
Docket25A-JP-00761
StatusPublished

This text of Paternity: Jacob O'Sullivan v. Kelsey Sever (Paternity: Jacob O'Sullivan v. Kelsey Sever) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Paternity: Jacob O'Sullivan v. Kelsey Sever, (Ind. Ct. App. 2025).

Opinion

FILED Sep 16 2025, 9:00 am

CLERK Indiana Supreme Court Court of Appeals and Tax Court

IN THE

Court of Appeals of Indiana Paternity: J.O’S., Appellant-Respondent

v.

K.S., Appellee-Petitioner

September 16, 2025 Court of Appeals Case No. 25A-JP-761 Appeal from the Hancock Circuit Court The Honorable R. Scott Sirk, Judge Trial Court Cause No. 30C01-2311-JP-289

Opinion by Judge Bradford Judges May and Mathias concur.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 25A-JP-761 | September 16, 2025 Page 1 of 19 Bradford, Judge.

Case Summary [1] K.S. (“Mother”) and J.O’S. (“Father”) are the parents of M.A.O’S. (“Child”).

In November of 2023, Mother petitioned to formally establish Father’s

paternity. Mother also sought determinations on custody, parenting-time, and

child-support issues. Mother argued that Father’s parenting time should be

restricted, claiming to have had concerns about Father’s alleged alcohol use.

Father denied suffering from any alcohol-related issues and requested parenting

time in accordance with Indiana’s Parenting Time Guidelines (the

“Guidelines”). The juvenile court eventually awarded Father a restricted

amount of parenting time with Child, with a path towards eventually receiving

parenting time in accordance with the Guidelines. The juvenile court also

ordered Father to pay $941.00 per week1 in child support, applied retroactively,

and found Father to be $30,105.00 in arrears of his child-support obligation as

of January 10, 2025.2 Father’s subsequent motion to correct error was denied.

[2] On appeal, Father contends that the juvenile court abused its discretion in

restricting his parenting time with Child and in setting his child-support

obligation at $941.00 per week. Because we agree with Father on both

1 Father was retroactively ordered to pay $976.00 per week in child support until the birth of his other child, at which time his retroactive obligation was decreased to $941.00 per week. 2 While Father had been providing $2000.00 per month to Mother prior to the imposition of his child- support obligation, this amount was less than the amount ultimately ordered by juvenile court, which led to the arrearage.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 25A-JP-761 | September 16, 2025 Page 2 of 19 contentions, we reverse the judgment of the juvenile court and remand for

further proceedings.

Facts and Procedural History [3] Child was born on November 24, 2022. On November 17, 2023, Mother

petitioned to formally establish Father’s paternity and sought determinations on

custody, parenting-time, and child-support issues. In her petition, Mother

stated concerns about Father’s “ability to properly care for [Child] during his

parenting time, and especially overnight, and is therefore requesting [Father’s]

parenting time be established to not include any overnight time, and otherwise

contain sufficient provisions to ensure [Child’s] health and safety while in the

care of [Father].” Appellant’s App. Vol. II p. 21.

[4] The juvenile court conducted a hearing on January 13, 2025, during which it

heard evidence relating to the questions of custody, parenting time, and child

support. Mother expressed concerns that Father might have an alcohol-abuse

problem, despite testifying that she had only ever observed him drink alcohol

responsibly.

[5] Mother accused Father of drinking “behind closed doors” and indicated that

due to concerns about Father’s alcohol consumption, she had purchased a

breathalyzer and, initially with Father’s agreement, Father had submitted to a

breathalyzer test prior to beginning his parenting time with Child. Tr. Vol. II p.

43. In the fourteen months that Father had agreed to submit to Mother’s

uncalibrated breathalyzer tests, only six tests had showed the presence of any

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 25A-JP-761 | September 16, 2025 Page 3 of 19 alcohol, and no test results had showed Father having a blood-alcohol

concentration (“BAC”) above the legal limit. During this time Mother had, on

rare occasions, also submitted to breathalyzer tests and had also had at least one

positive test result. In April of 2024, Father began refusing to submit to

Mother’s breathalyzer tests. Mother also testified that she had previously

observed Father in an intoxicated state.

[6] As evidence of her belief that Father had a drinking problem, Mother submitted

a summary of Father’s bank records in which she highlighted his purchases at

bars, restaurants, liquor stores, grocery stores, and any other retail stores that

sold alcohol. With regards to liquor stores specifically, Mother’s summary of

Father’s bank records indicated that in May of 2023, he had made a purchase

from a liquor store fourteen times. In August of 2023, he had made a purchase

from a liquor store ten times. In November of 2023, Father made twelve

purchases and, in December of 2023, Father made eleven purchases from a

liquor store or other retail store that sold alcohol. Mother alleged that all told,

between September of 2023 and May of 2024, Father had made sixty-eight

purchases, totaling $1876.29, from liquor stores. Mother admitted that she

could not verify that Child had been with Father when any of the purchases at

issue had been made or that Father had even bought alcohol. With regard to

these purchases, Father testified that he had “very rarely” purchased alcohol,

claiming that he had instead purchased scratch-off lottery tickets and Slim Jims

from the liquor stores listed on his bank records. Tr. Vol. II p. 125. Father

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 25A-JP-761 | September 16, 2025 Page 4 of 19 explained that he had stopped at those stores because they were conveniently

along his route between work and home.

[7] Mother indicated that Father had averaged about “thirteen and a half” hours of

parenting time per month for “the last two years[,]” and indicated that she was

open to Father having more parenting time so long as there were “stipulations

for sobriety” to ensure Child’s safety while in Father’s care. Tr. Vol. II p. 12.

Father claimed that Mother had denied his requests for additional parenting

time with Child. Father also expressed the concern that if he was not afforded

the opportunity to have significant involvement in Child’s life then Mother

would “make comments to [Child] undermining” Father’s relationship with

Child. Tr. Vol. II p. 118. Mother requested sole legal custody of Child.

[8] Father denied having an alcohol-abuse problem. Father indicated that he only

drank “[o]ccasionally.” Tr. Vol. II p. 120. He further indicated that he had

never been convicted of, or even charged with, an alcohol-related offense.

Mother communicated to Father that she believed Father’s assertion that he did

not drink around Child. Father indicated that he is willing to “jump through

some hoops” in order to spend time with Child and had submitted to Mother’s

breathalyzer tests because he “would do anything just to get some time with

[his] son.” Tr. Vol. II p. 123.

[9] Father’s brother indicated that he does not believe that Father has a drinking

problem. Father’s brother testified that upon learning of Mother’s concerns that

Father had been “closet” drinking, he had investigated Mother’s concerns by

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 25A-JP-761 | September 16, 2025 Page 5 of 19 searching Father’s home and trash when Father was not present. Tr. Vol.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Michael D. Perkinson, Jr. v. Kay Char Perkinson
989 N.E.2d 758 (Indiana Supreme Court, 2013)
Meredith v. Meredith
854 N.E.2d 942 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2006)
State Farm Insurance v. Freeman
847 N.E.2d 1047 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2006)
Paternity of H.H. v. Hughes
879 N.E.2d 1175 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2008)
Estate of Carter v. Szymczak
951 N.E.2d 1 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2011)
Glenn Hatmaker v. Betty Hatmaker
998 N.E.2d 758 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2013)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
Paternity: Jacob O'Sullivan v. Kelsey Sever, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/paternity-jacob-osullivan-v-kelsey-sever-indctapp-2025.