Berger v. Hernandez

Summary

The North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed a corrected amended judgment requiring an incarcerated father to reimburse the North Dakota Department of Human Services for child support and pay at least $168 per month. The court held that income may be imputed to an incarcerated child-support obligor and that North Dakota’s child-support guidelines create a rebuttable, not irrebuttable, presumption of the correct support amount.

Holdings

1. North Dakota law authorizes imputation of income to an incarcerated child-support obligor who has no other income, and incarceration does not by itself excuse the obligor from child-support obligations.
2. The North Dakota child-support guidelines do not create an irrebuttable minimum payment; the guideline amount is presumptively correct but may be rebutted by a showing that applying the guidelines would be unjust or inappropriate.
3. Hernandez failed to rebut the presumption that the guideline amount was the correct amount of child support because he presented no evidence concerning his ability to pay or other resources.

Questions Presented

1. Whether North Dakota's child-support statutes and administrative guidelines authorize imputing income to an incarcerated child-support obligor.
2. Whether imputed income and the guideline calculation created an unconstitutional or federally preempted irrebuttable minimum child-support obligation.
3. Whether Hernandez rebutted the presumption that the guideline amount was the correct amount of child support.

Disposition

affirmed