A-18-498, Joel Guthard v. Jennifer Guthard (Appellant)
Buffalo County, District Court, Judge William T. Wright
Attorneys for Appellant: Loralea L. Frank and Nathan P. Husak (Bruner Frank, L.L.C.)
Attorney for Appellee: Elizabeth J. Chrisp (Jacobsen, Orr, Lindstrom & Holbrook, P.C., L.L.O.)
Civil Action: Modification of Child Support
Action Taken by Trial Court: The district court found that Jennifer failed to meet her burden of proof that Joel’s child support obligation should be increased. Since the original order of child support in the divorce decree, Joel became a 50-percent owner in an S Corporation. The court found that there was no evidence showing that the S Corporation’s retained earnings were excessive or inappropriate. The court further found that the distributions Joel received from the corporation to pay his tax liability were speculative, and that there was no evidence of the value of any “in kind” benefits he received from the corporation. Finally, the court found that there was nothing to indicate the net income of another company in which Joel was a 50-percent owner. Accordingly, the district court denied Jennifer’s request for an upward modification of Joel’s child support obligation.
Assignments of Error on Appeal: Jennifer assigns that the district court abused its discretion by denying her request for an upward modification of Joel’s child support obligation.