Dad argues child support law Connecticut man disputes rules for out-of-state residents
By ROBERT GAVIN, Staff writer First published: Tuesday, January 8, 2008
ALBANY -- When Kipp Spencer turned 18 in 2004, the Connecticut teenager's father was no longer required to pay his child support. Then Kipp and his mother moved to Albany County, where a Family Court support magistrate ruled the payments should continue until he turns 21, that being the law in New York. In addition, the judge upped the father's weekly support by $100 to $350.
Today, following a failed effort to reverse that decision, Dr. James Spencer will take his case before New York's highest court. Should a Court of Appeals rule in his favor, it could affect the future of out-of-state child support battles. "My basic argument is what the New York courts have done violates federal law," said the father's attorney, Bruce J. Wagner of Albany. He noted that New York courts, under federal law, cannot modify the duration or payment of child support arrangements from another state when one of the parties still lives there. Decisions in several states support his client's case, Wagner said. James Spencer, a 52-year-old physician, and his ex-wife, Susan, 50, divorced in 1995 after nine years of marriage. They also have two other children, a 19-year-old son and 15-year-old daughter. Under their divorce, the mother got child custody. James Spencer was ordered to pay $250-a-week for each child until the age of 18. While the doctor still lives in Connecticut, Susan Spencer and the children moved to Bethlehem in 2005. That same year, she took her ex-husband to court to obtain his child support for Kipp "consistent with the laws of the state of New York." In Albany Family Court, Support Magistrate Heidi Malaczynski not only directed the father to send the $350 weekly payments but also told him to pay 75 percent of Kipp's college expenses and the mother's legal fees. When he appealed, the Appellate Division upheld the ruling. It found that the Connecticut child support order had expired for Kipp -- who turned 18, the age of "emancipation" in that state when child support is no longer mandatory. As a result, New York's midlevel appeals court found the Albany County order did not modify any existing Connecticut ruling or violate federal law. Susan Spencer's attorney, Michael Snyder of Albany, said he hoped the Court of Appeals would take a similar view. In the meantime, James Spencer has paid Kipp's child support. Wagner said if his client prevails, he would expect reimbursement. Snyder said Susan Spencer is waiting for the high court's decision before seeking the continued payments for their other two children.
When in NYS do as the NYS'ers do....Pay through the nose for EVERYTHING!!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
By ROBERT GAVIN, Staff writer Friday, February 15, 2008
ALBANY - The state's highest court has unanimously ruled that a Connecticut man should not have been required to pay additional child support for his eldest son after the boy turned 18 in New York.
In a 7-0 decision, the Court of Appeals found New York state had no jurisdiction under federal law to "modify" a child support order from Connecticut. In doing so, the court ruled in favor of Connecticut physician James Spencer, who was opposing his ex-wife, Susan Spencer of Bethlehem. The Spencers, who married in 1986, divorced in December 1994. That same year, Spencer's ex-wife and their three children moved to Albany County. The father remains in Connecticut. At the time of the divorce, a Connecticut court ordered James Spencer to pay $250 a week for each child and to provide medical insurance. The payments were to continue until each child turned 18, that being the law in Connecticut. Spencer's oldest son turned 18 in 2004, ending his father's obligation under the Connecticut order. But Susan Spencer filed a petition in Albany County in June 2005, seeking to continue her ex-husband's payments until their son turned 21, that being "consistent with the laws of the state of New York." James Spencer unsuccessfully tried to dismiss the order. Following a hearing, Albany County Support Magistrate Heidi Malaczynski ordered the physician to send $350 weekly payments. She also ordered him to pay 75 percent of the young man's college expenses and uninsured medical expenses - as well as the mother's $5,080 in legal fees. When the father objected in Family Court in March 2006, he was denied and ordered to pay more legal fees for his ex-wife, totaling $9,597. James Spencer appealed to the Appellate Division, which sided with his ex-wife. It ruled that since the Connecticut order had expired, it couldn't be modified. The Court of Appeals, which released its ruling Thursday, disagreed. In her decision, Chief Judge Judith Kaye said the Albany County ruling not only changed the amount being paid under the Connecticut decision, but altered its scope by adding a provision for college expenses and changed the duration of payments. "Undoubtedly, the New York order was made subsequent to the Connecticut order," she wrote. "Therefore, under the plain language of the federal statute, a second order for child support is a 'modification' of Connecticut's order." Kaye added, "We are well aware of New York's strong policy interest in assuring that both parents fulfill their support obligations throughout their children's first 21 years of life. Where a parent has the means to do so, we certainly hope those parental obligations will be met for the sake of the child's well-being. We are without jurisdiction, however, to compel this father to honor his parental responsibilities to his eldest son." A Family Court will address the father's request to recoup his payments, Kaye ruled.
I wonder how much this poor guy had to pay a lawyer for a judge to come to this 'common sense' decision. It should have never gone this far.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
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