LaMothe v. LeBlanc

Summary

The Vermont Supreme Court affirmed a family-court decision concerning child support, derivative Social Security Disability Insurance benefits, and a deviation from the child-support guidelines. The court held that the father was entitled to credit for the lump-sum derivative benefit only to the extent of his existing court-ordered obligation for the child’s dental expenses, upheld the refusal to impute income to the mother, and approved the deviation resulting in no ongoing child-support obligation for either party.

Holdings

1. Father was entitled to credit from the lump-sum derivative SSDI benefit only to the extent of his existing court-ordered obligation during the period covered by the benefit; he was not entitled to reimbursement of the excess.
2. The magistrate properly declined to impute income to mother because the record supported the finding that she was not voluntarily underemployed.
3. The magistrate properly deviated from the child-support guidelines and ordered that neither party pay child support because applying the guideline amount would be unfair under the circumstances.
4. Any alleged errors in the guideline calculations were harmless because the court upheld the independent deviation ruling that it would be unfair to require mother to pay child support.

Questions Presented

1. Whether father was entitled to a credit for the entire $4,370 lump-sum derivative SSDI benefit rather than only the amount corresponding to his existing obligation for the child's dental expenses.
2. Whether the magistrate erred by declining to find that mother was voluntarily underemployed and by refusing to impute income to her.
3. Whether the magistrate properly deviated from the child-support guidelines so that neither party was required to pay child support.
4. Whether any errors in the magistrate's child-support guideline calculations required reversal despite the deviation ruling.

Disposition

affirmed