Court: Court of Appeals of Oregon; January 8, 1992; Oregon; State Appellate Court
In the case of Jerry Claude Koch v. Cherryl Ann Koch, the Oregon Court of Appeals addressed an appeal by the mother regarding a trial court order that awarded custody of their child to the father and mandated that the mother pay $50 per month in child support. The mother argued her inability to pay this amount, citing her sole income of $684 per month in Aid to Dependent Children (ADC) and $264 in food stamps, alongside her obligation to support three other children from previous relationships.
The court affirmed the custody award but vacated the child support obligation, focusing on the application of the Uniform Child Support Guidelines relevant at the time the order was issued. According to the guidelines, $50 was the presumed minimum child support amount for a noncustodial parent, which could be contested if shown to be unjust. The guidelines also stipulate that gross income for child support calculations includes income from all sources, including public assistance and ADC payments.
The court noted that while guidelines provided clarity for determining gross income for custodial parents receiving ADC, they were less clear for noncustodial parents in similar situations. It referenced a presumption that every parent can earn at least the minimum wage, which at that time was $823 per month. After calculating the mother's adjusted gross income (AGI) by deducting allowances for her three other children, her AGI was determined to be $741. Based on this AGI, the presumptively correct child support amount would be $70 per month. However, the trial court found this presumption overcome, taking into account the mother's public assistance and the hardships of raising three children without support from the fathers of her other children.
The presumption of $73 for child support has been successfully challenged, establishing $50 as the appropriate minimum amount. Oregon Administrative Rule (OAR) 137-50-470 indicates a rebuttable presumption that the noncustodial parent can pay this minimum unless the mother provides evidence of her inability. While prioritizing adequate support for children, the law stipulates that support obligations should not exceed a parent's ability to pay or impede self-support. The trial court recognized the mother's difficult financial situation but still mandated the $50 payment. However, the father is employed full-time and receives additional support from his sister, while the mother has no child support for her three other children and operates at a subsistence level, incurring debts that exceed her assistance payments. Consequently, the court found no evidence that the mother can provide for the child in the father's custody, leading to the conclusion that she overcame the presumption of her ability to pay $50. The court determined the trial court erred in ordering any child support payments, affirming the custody award but vacating the child support order. Recent legislative changes further support that parents receiving certain public assistance are presumed unable to pay child support, allowing for the potential reduction of support obligations to zero.
Subsection (6) establishes that the presumption regarding a parent's ability to pay child support applies regardless of whether the Support Enforcement Division enforces the support order, as referenced in Gay and Gay, 108 Or. App. 121, 124, 814 P.2d 543 (1991). Oregon Laws 1991, chapter 520, section 3 amended the presumptions concerning a welfare parent's capacity to pay child support. Previously, a parent receiving public assistance was presumed able to pay $50 monthly in child support, but for orders issued after July 14, 1991, such parents are presumed unable to pay any support. OAR 137-50-360(1) states that if a parent is unemployed, underemployed, or lacks direct evidence of income, child support will be calculated based on potential income, with a rebuttable presumption that the parent can be employed full-time. There is consensus that the mother in this case has the potential to earn above minimum wage, as per OAR 137-50-360(2)(a). Although the trial court set a presumptive child support obligation at $73 per month, the actual amount indicated by the record is $70 per month. Additionally, OAR 137-50-400 has been revised to adjust the formula for calculating nonjoint child credit, effective January 1, 1991, but these changes do not impact the current order.
