Penelope Lynne Allen v. Gordon Carmack Allen

Mother and Father were divorced in 2001 and the Final Decree required Father to pay a fixed amount to Mother each month as child support in addition to a percentage of his fluctuating income. Father was also ordered to provide Mother with proof of his income on a quarterly basis. In response to Mother’s motion to modify in 2003, the trial court averaged three years of Father’s gross income and increased Father’s monthly child support payments. Mother moved in 2011 to hold Father in contempt of court for failing to continue providing her with proof of his income and sought a child support arrearage based on Father’s failure to pay a percentage of his fluctuating income for the years 2003 through 2010. The trial court awarded Mother the arrearage she sought and found Father was in civil contempt for failing to continue providing Mother with proof of his income. The court awarded Mother her attorney’s fees based on Father’s civil contempt. Father appealed, and we reverse the trial court’s judgment. The governing statute requires child support payments to be for a definite amount, not an amount that fluctuates. The existing order did not include the requirement that Father provide proof of income. Therefore, we also reverse the trial court’s award to Mother of attorney’s fees incurred in the civil contempt proceedings.