Kestner v. Clark
Alaska Supreme Court
182 P.3d 1117 (2008)
Kestner (plaintiff) stopped working to care for children from her second marriage while her ex-husband Clark (defendant) had primary custody of their son Nathan; after Clark obtained custody, Kestner sought a downward modification of her child-support obligation to $50 a month, citing her lack of income and the reasonableness of staying home. Evidence showed her new husband earned $64,000 a year with a $450,000 family net worth; the trial court found her voluntarily and unreasonably unemployed, imputed $25,000 in annual income, and ordered $299 monthly support, and also permitted discovery of her husband's finances but not Clark's fiancée's income.
Whether a parent's voluntary unemployment to care for children from a subsequent marriage lessens that parent's child-support obligation to a child from a prior marriage.