Tamara Downie, formerly Tamara Reed v. Jason Reed

Indiana Court of Appeals·Decided February 25, 2013·No. 20A03-1208-DR-344·Unpublished

Opinion

Pursuant to Ind.Appellate Rule 65(D), this Memorandum Decision shall not be regarded as precedent or cited before any court except for the purpose of establishing the defense of res judicata, collateral estoppel, or the law of the case.

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: FILED Feb 25 2013, 9:30 am

RANDY J. SPITAELS Kindig & Sloat, PC CLERK of the supreme court,

Nappanee, Indiana court of appeals and tax court

IN THE

COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

TAMARA DOWNIE, formerly ) TAMARA REED, )

)

Appellant, )

)

vs. ) No. 20A03-1208-DR-344 )

JASON REED, )

)

Appellee. )

APPEAL FROM THE ELKHART CIRCUIT COURT The Honorable Terry C. Shewmaker, Judge Cause No. 20C01-0307-DR-153

February 25, 2013

MEMORANDUM DECISION - NOT FOR PUBLICATION

BROWN, Judge

Tamara Downie (“Mother”) appeals the trial court’s order modifying child support. Mother raises three issues, which we revise and restate as whether the trial court abused its discretion in determining that neither she nor Jason Reed (“Father”) is required to pay any amount of child support. We affirm.

FACTS & PROCEDURAL HISTORY Mother and Father have two children together, A., born in March 1998, and H., born in May 2000. The trial court’s chronological case summary (the “CCS”) shows that a hearing was held on September 17, 2010, at which the court fixed Mother’s child support obligation in the sum of forty-nine dollars per week. On September 30, 2011, the court entered an order awarding custody of H. to Mother and noting that the parties agreed regarding placement of H. with Mother and that the issue of support remained unresolved.

On October 18, 2011, Mother filed a verified motion to modify child support and health insurance order. In the motion, Mother noted that she was currently subject to an order to pay child support of forty-nine dollars and that Father was subject to an order requiring him to maintain health insurance on both children, argued that there had been a substantial and continuing change in circumstances which makes the existing weekly support and health insurance orders unreasonable in that Mother was awarded custody of H. on September 30, 2011, and that Father failed to maintain health insurance for the children, and requested the court to enter an order providing that Mother shall maintain health insurance coverage for the children and requiring Father to pay weekly child support to Mother in accordance with the Indiana Child Support Guidelines (the “Support

Guidelines”). The court held a preliminary hearing on November 18, 2011, and ordered Mother to maintain health insurance for H. and Father to maintain health insurance for A. pending further order of the court.

On January 4, 2012, the court held an evidentiary hearing on Mother’s October 18, 2011 motion to modify support at which the parties presented evidence and arguments. Mother was represented by counsel, Father represented himself, and an attorney for the State appeared. At the hearing, Mother introduced a proposed child support obligation worksheet, which she stated was filed in September 2010 and which indicated that her weekly gross income was $290 and that Father’s weekly gross income was $800. Mother testified that she earned $250 from her employer while working part-time and that the $290 amount on her proposed support worksheet was her potential income if she earned minimum wage for forty hours per week. Mother testified that, in September 2010, Father’s income was $800 and that Father provided health insurance coverage for the children. Mother testified that circumstances had changed since September 2010 and that H. had lived with her starting on September 11, 2011. Mother testified that since the previous court date Father had provided A. with health insurance coverage through Hoosier Healthwise. Mother also testified that, as of the date of the hearing, she provided health insurance coverage for H. and dental insurance coverage for both A. and H. and that the insurance premiums were withheld or deducted from her current husband’s paycheck. Mother introduced a copy of her paycheck which showed that no amounts were withheld or deducted from her paycheck to pay insurance premiums.

Mother testified that Father quit his employment at Summit Ridge Automotive, where he earned $800 per week, and had started a business. Mother indicated that she was asking the court to use the amount of $800 per week as Father’s income for child support purposes and testified: “When I quit my job, . . . the state and the Court still have held me at my standard of what I was making because I willfully quit my job. I quit my job to go to school . . . and the same as [Father] quit a job he was making good money . . . .” Transcript at 45. Mother introduced an exhibit showing a CCS entry dated January 17, 2006, which indicated that the court had found that Mother quit working and was attending school and that support should be based on Mother’s ability to earn and fixed her income based upon her earnings for 2004.1 On cross-examination, Mother testified that she worked for Downie Auto Sales, which is owned by her current husband, was paid a salary of $250 per week, and that she drove her current husband’s vehicle, which was titled in the dealership’s name. Mother introduced business records obtained from Summit Ridge Automotive which included Father’s 2010 W2 form and 2010 payroll history, which showed that the last week worked by Father ended on November 26, 2010, and that until that date Father earned $800 per week.

1 The CCS entry also provided in part:

Prior to 01-17-06 hearing the weekly orders of support were $285.00 to 2-13-04, $422.42 beginning 02-20-04 and $103.62 beginning 07-17-05. The order increasing support to $422.42 per week was entered 07-15-05 creating an arrears in addition to the one entered of record as of 02-20-04. That order was reduced to $103.62 based on wife’s testimony that she was on a salary of $300.00 per week as her only income and would provide free day care for the children. Court finds wife misstated her income when she testified she was only receiving $300.00 per week. Wife quit working and is attending school at this time.

Petitioner’s Exhibit 7.

Father testified regarding “the 2006 documents” that “the reason that [Mother]

was held to those standards [was] because that was the period of time where she was found to be fraudulent for income verification, and also served jail time for nonpayment of child support during those proceedings,” that “[o]bviously, that was a long time ago, and we’re in the current, and my income isn’t what it used to be and neither is hers,” and that “[s]o I think that [the court] should try to use the most current information from both parties if we’re going to renegotiate a child support order. I made several proposals to them, and they denied all of them.” Id. at 52-53.

Father testified that his “income is going to be $290 per week” and that “it has been established, but it has not been paid out to [him] yet.” Id. at 53. Father testified that he was “in the process with the state of filing for all [his] proper tax numbers so that that income can be recorded and taxed properly through the state.” Id. Father testified:

I quit my job at Summit Ridge Automotive due to I was hired as a management position. That position was not granted to me after eight months of working there. So I had the opportunity to start my own business. So I left that job to start my own business, and I wasn’t able to open my new business until approximately the second week of May. It took six months to get everything in order and be able to open the doors, and I’ve been working there ever since. . . .

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Tamara Downie, formerly Tamara Reed v. Jason Reed, (Ind. Ct. App. 2013).

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