Change in Circumstances to Modify Child Support in Arizona.

We review child support awards for abuse of discretion. Sherman v. Sherman, 241 Ariz. 110, 112 (App. 2016); Engel v. Landman, 221 Ariz. 504, 510 (App. 2009). An abuse of discretion occurs when the court commits an error of law that underlies its exercise of discretion. Kohler v. Kohler, 211 Ariz. 106, 107 (App. 2005).

We accept the court’s factual findings unless clearly erroneous, but review de novo the court’s conclusions of law and interpretation of the Guidelines. Nia v. Nia, 242 Ariz. 419, 422 (App. 2017). We look “to the [Guidelines’] plain language as the most reliable indicator of the supreme court’s intent.” Milinovich v. Womack, 236 Ariz. 612, 615 (App. 2015).

We “strive to interpret the relevant section in conjunction with other provisions of the Guidelines and consistent with their overall purpose.” Id. Guidelines § 24 permits either parent to petition the superior court to modify child support upon a showing of a substantial and continuing change of circumstances. See A.R.S. § 25-503(E).

The party seeking the modification may use a standard procedure or a simplified procedure. Guidelines § 24(A), (B). When using the simplified procedure: A party seeking to modify child support . . . shall file with the clerk of the court a request for simplified modification, accompanied by a sworn Parent’s Worksheet for Child Support Amount, and pay the required filing fee. The parties shall then follow the procedures specified in the [Guidelines]. Ariz. R. Fam. Law P. 91(B)(2)(b).

Modify Child Support in Arizona.

Under the facts of this case, the superior court should have held an evidentiary hearing before ruling on Father’s motion to dismiss to assess Father’s income and parenting time. See Gibbs, 227 Ariz. at 407 (“Even when the technical requirements for preclusion based on a former adjudication are met, the court should not apply preclusion principles []where there is some overriding consideration of fairness to a litigant,’[] as determined by the particular case’s circumstances.”).

Both income and parenting time are relevant factors when determining child support, see Guidelines §§ 8, 11, and the facts surrounding both were in dispute.1 Under the simplified procedure, the parent seeking to modify child support must include a completed and sworn child support worksheet and documentation supporting the parents’ incomes “if different from the court’s most recent findings regarding income of the parents.” Guidelines § 24(B).

Mother included supporting documentation for Father’s income, and the decree was inconsistent with Father’s stated parenting time. Mother’s child support worksheet accompanying her October 2016 petition resulted in at least a fifteen percent variation in Father’s child support obligation per the Guidelines as compared to the Order. “A fifteen percent variation in the amount of the order will be considered evidence of substantial and continuing change of circumstances.” Id.

Incorrect Income Figures in Child Support Calculation is a Basis to Modify Child Support in Arizona

Mother produced evidence that incorrect information was used in the Order. If Mother’s evidence is correct, it would result in a substantial and continuing change of circumstances resulting in a fifteen percent variance in the child support order. See Guidelines § 24(B).

Because Father disputed Mother’s requested modification, the Guidelines required him to request a hearing. See id. Because Father did not request a hearing, 1 Under the Guidelines in effect at the time Mother petitioned to modify child support, and under the Guidelines, effective April 1, 2018, Father’s child support obligation should reflect that he and Mother have multiple children with different parenting plans. See Guidelines § 11; Adoption of Revisions to the Arizona Child Support Guidelines, Administrative Order No. 2018-08, Guidelines § 16 (adopted Jan. 24, 2018). Per the Guidelines, Father’s parenting time credit is based on the number of parenting days Father actually exercises.

Per the Guidelines, the superior court should have “review[ed] the request and enter[ed] an appropriate order or set the matter for hearing.” See id. (emphasis added). The superior court did hear argument on Father’s Motion to Dismiss. The court asked Mother’s counsel multiple times what circumstances had changed since the court entered the Order, but the parties did not submit additional evidence or testify.

In its order granting Father’s Motion to Dismiss, the superior court stated: Mother initially argued that there has been the requisite change in circumstances since the last order . . . but after further questioning by the Court conceded that they did not occur during the relevant time period. The superior court incorrectly interpreted the Guidelines. A parent must show “changed circumstances that are substantial and continuing” before child support may be modified. A.R.S. §§ 25-327(A), -503(E); Guidelines § 24.

Incorrect Income in Prior Child Support Calculation Allows Modification of Child Support

Modification of Child Support in Arizona.

Changed circumstances in the context of child-support modification, however, may be that incorrect information was used to determine a previous order. Thus, the superior court’s inquiry should have focused on whether Mother’s October 2016 petition alleged a colorable claim that incorrect information was used in the Order, and if the information is corrected would there be a fifteen percent variation in the child support order.

The superior court’s determination of Father’s child support obligation in the Order was based solely on Father’s April 2016 petition and accompanying child support worksheet, which did not include supporting documentation.

Mother and Father’s respective child support worksheets alleged different incomes and parenting time, and a hearing is a preferred method for resolving disputed facts. See Pridgeon v. Superior Court, 134 Ariz. 177, 181 (1982) (“[I]f . . . affidavits are directly in opposition upon any substantial and crucial fact relevant to the grounds for [child custody] modification, the court may not conduct a ‘trial by affidavit’, attempting to weigh the credibility of the opposing statements. In such a case, the court must hold a hearing.”); Volk v. Brame, 235 Ariz. 462, 467, 469 (App. 2014) (a hearing where the parties were only permitted to submit documents to the court and neither party was permitted to testify provided “no adversarial check on the quality of the information that Mother provided to the court and upon which it relied to modify Father’s child support obligation”).

Father argues allowing Mother to petition to modify child support because she calculated a fifteen percent variation from the Order “would lead to chaos and mass filings” in the superior courts because “any aggrieved parent unhappy with a [c]ourt’s findings” could endlessly petition to modify child support, “alleging a 15% change, when in fact there is NO change in the circumstances underlying the existing Order.”

However, as discussed above, a request for modification using the simplified procedure must be accompanied by a child support worksheet and supporting documentation if the income alleged is “different from the court’s most recent findings.” Guidelines § 24(B).

Accordingly, the parent seeking modification must present a colorable claim that there has been a change in relevant factors, or that an error occurred in determining the relevant factors, such that applying the Guidelines results in a fifteen percent variation from the current child support order.

We acknowledge Mother failed to object or respond to Father’s April 2016 petition, and we do not question the superior court’s decision to enter the Order without holding a hearing or receiving evidence from Mother. We also note any modification to Father’s child support obligation would be prospective only, as “[m]odifications . . . are effective on the first day of the month following notice of the petition for modification.” A.R.S. § 25-327(A) (unless the court “for good cause shown” orders the modification to be effective at a different date not earlier than the date the petition was filed).

Consequently, by not responding to Father’s April 2016 petition or appealing the superior court’s dismissal of Mother’s earlier petitions to modify, Mother may receive less child support than she was entitled to for the months between when the superior court entered the Order and when Mother filed the October 2016 petition.

Mother’s subsequent petition sufficiently raised a colorable claim that application of the Guidelines results in a fifteen percent variation in Father’s child support obligation. Therefore, the superior court erred by not holding a hearing to determine Father’s correct income, parenting time, and whether his child support obligation should be modified.

Both parties request an award of attorney’s fees and costs pursuant to Arizona Rule of Civil Appellate Procedure (“ARCAP”) 21(a) and (c) and A.R.S. § 25-324. Section 25-324 affords a court discretion to award a party reasonable attorney’s fees based on the “financial resources of both parties and the reasonableness of the positions each party has taken throughout the proceedings.”

In exercising our discretion, we award Mother her reasonable attorney’s fees on appeal. As the prevailing party on appeal, Mother is also entitled to costs upon her compliance with ARCAP 21. For the foregoing reasons, we reverse the superior court’s dismissal of Mother’s October 2016 petition and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

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Chris Hildebrand wrote this article to ensure everyone has access to information about family law in Arizona. Chris is a divorce and family law attorney at Hildebrand Law, PC. He has over 24 years of Arizona family law experience and has received multiple awards, including US News and World Report “Top Arizona Divorce Attorneys”, Phoenix Magazine “Top Divorce Law Firms”, and Arizona Foothills Magazine “Best of the Valley” award. He believes the policies and procedures he uses to get his clients through a divorce should all be guided by the principles of honesty, integrity, and, quite frankly, actually caring about what his clients are going through in a divorce or family law case. In short, his practice is defined by the success of his clients. He also manages all of the other attorneys at his firm to make sure the outcomes in their clients’ cases are successful as well.