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Date: 11-13-2024
Case Style:
Child Support Enforcement Agency, State of Hawaii v. I.S.
Case Number: 1FAL-22-00001
Judge: Not Available
Court: First Circuit Court, Honolulu County, Hawaii
Plaintiff's Attorney: Honolulu County, Hawaii District Attorney's Office
Defendant's Attorney:
Description:
Honolulu, Hawaii family law lawyer represented the Defendant on a child support question.
Mother is a responsible parent[2] under Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) Chapter 576E. On August 5, 2021, she asked the Child Support Enforcement Agency (CSEA) for a "modification of child support due to income change." The Office of Child Support Hearings (OCSH) held hearings on January 5, 2022, and April 6, 2022.
2
On April 29, 2022, OCSH filed a Support Order[3] requiring Mother to pay child support of $717 per month. Mother appealed to family court. The family court affirmed. This appeal followed.
Mother, a self-employed real estate agent, states a single point of error: "The Family Court erred in failing to remand this case to the CSEA hearing [sic] officer 'to scrutinize' mother's business expenses to determine the validity of each business expense[.]"
An OCSH hearing is conducted under HRS Chapter 91. Hawaii Administrative Rules § 5-31-2 (eff. 2014). Appeals are taken under HRS § 91-14. Our review of the family court's decision on Mother's appeal from the Support Order is a secondary appeal; we must determine whether the family court was right or wrong in its decision, applying the standards in HRS § 91-14(g) to the OCSH decision. CH v. Child Support Enf't Agency, 149 Hawai'i 523, 531, 495 P.3d 373, 381 (App. 2021) .
A responsible parent's request to change their monthly support obligation is subject to the Hawai'i Child Support Guidelines. P.O. v. J.S., 139 Hawai'i 434, 436, 393 P.3d 986, 988 (2017). The Support Order correctly stated that the Guidelines "address self-employed individuals and how their incomes should be determined for calculating child support." The Guidelines dictate the following procedure to determine income:
SELF-EMPLOYED individuals with gross incomes under $13,000 per month may calculate Monthly Net Income (Line 2) either (1) by using the automated version of the CSG WORKSHEET or, (2) if there is no eligible qualified business income deduction as defined in Internal Revenue Code Section 199A, by using the manual steps in §111.E.2. below. Self-employed individuals must report gross income minus ordinary, necessary and reasonable business/operating expenses[.]
Haw. State Judiciary, Hawai'i Child Support Guidelines 15 (2020) (footnotes omitted).[4]
The OCSH hearings officer used Mother's 2021 Form 1099 to determine Mother's annual gross income. Mother submitted an unsigned 2021 federal income tax return to prove her business expenses. Schedule C listed deductible business expenses of $20,431, and other business expenses of $2,368. Mother did not submit documentation of her business expenses. The hearings officer found and concluded:
[Mother] failed to provide credible testimony or evidence to allow for any scrutiny of her deductions or expenses. . . . [Mother] failed to provide credible testimony or evidence to allow for any scrutiny of her deductions or expenses. [Mother] is self-employed and had to report gross income and then prove her expenses are ordinary, necessary, and reasonable business/operating expenses to reduce it. [Mother] failed to do this. . . . [Mother] argued that the IRS never questioned her deductions and expenses. Unlike the IRS, this hearings officer is bound to scrutinize [Mother]'s deductions and expenses. . . . [Mother] failed to show sufficient proof supporting her deductions and expenses. Because [Mother] failed to provide documents supporting her claimed deductions and expenses, it is reasonable to calculate [Mother]'s monthly gross income based upon her Form 1099 solely.
I.S. v. Child Support Enf't Agency, CAAP-23-0000714 (Haw. App. Nov 13, 2024)
Outcome: Affirmed
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
Comments: