Mazza v. Hollis

Summary

The District of Columbia Court of Appeals held that a Georgia divorce decree incorporating and approving the parties’ child support agreement constituted an order subject to modification under District of Columbia law. The court rejected application of the more restrictive Cooper standard and remanded for consideration of modification under the Child Support Guideline, also vacating a related increase in the support obligation.

Holdings

1. A child-support agreement incorporated into and approved as part of a Georgia divorce decree is an order of a court within the meaning of D.C. Code §§ 46-204(a) and 16-916.01(a), and therefore may be modified under those provisions.
2. The restrictive Cooper standard does not govern modification of a child-support provision that has been merged into, or otherwise adopted as, the court's own order; instead, modification is governed by the District's child-support statutes and guideline.

Questions Presented

1. Whether District of Columbia child-support statutes permit modification of a child-support obligation contained in a settlement agreement that was incorporated into and became part of a Georgia divorce court's judgment.
2. Whether the restrictive modification standard from Cooper v. Cooper governs modification of the incorporated Georgia child-support order.
3. Whether the Superior Court's order denying modification and increasing support should be vacated pending application of the District's child-support guideline.

Disposition

vacated