Alynn Smith, petitioner-appellee/cross-appellant v. Howard Eaton, respondent-appellant/cross-appellee., 16-0553

Background

Parents (Howard Eaton and Alynn Smith) share a child born 2003; 2004 Iowa decree awarded Alynn physical care, modified in 2008 to joint physical care.
Howard moved out of Iowa (2009), child lived with Howard; Arkansas default order (2010) granted Howard custody and set child support but was later declared void ab initio in 2014 because Iowa retained jurisdiction.
After Arkansas/Tennessee jurisdiction disputes, Iowa court retained and exercised jurisdiction; Tennessee proceedings were dismissed and Iowa modification proceeded to trial in Nov. 2015.
District court awarded primary physical care to Howard in Tennessee, set Alynn’s child support to begin Jan 1, 2016, granted Alynn visitation during school breaks (including seven weeks in summer), restricted three-day weekend extra visitation to Tennessee, and awarded Alynn attorney fees for contesting jurisdiction.
On appeal, the court affirmed physical care, child support amount and nonretroactivity, affirmed jurisdictional-fee award, denied trial and appellate fee awards, but modified visitation: reduced summer weeks to six and removed the Tennessee-only restriction for three-day weekend visits (Alynn pays transportation).

Issues

Issue	Smith's Argument	Eaton's Argument	Held
Whether physical care should be awarded to Smith instead of Eaton	Smith: She can provide superior, more stable care in Iowa	Eaton: Long-term residence with child in Tennessee and superior care supports awarding him physical care	Court: Eaton awarded physical care — Smith failed to prove superior care or sufficient change since 2008 to justify transfer
Amount of child support	Smith: Court overstated her income (no future OT) and understated Eaton’s income; obligation too high	Eaton: Agreed with the court’s income findings (supports amount)	Court: Affirmed support ($645/mo); overtime income included for Smith; Eaton’s income estimate (lower figure) adopted
Retroactive child support to Nov 2014	Eaton: Support should be retroactive three months after petition (Nov 2014)	Smith: No obligation during pendency after Arkansas order voided; court discretion to deny retroactivity	Court: Denied retroactivity — no abuse of discretion; Eaton failed to seek temporary support and had received overpayments he did not refund
Summer visitation length	Smith: Keep seven weeks to maximize limited break-time access	Eaton: Should be six weeks so Eaton has more meaningful summer time with child	Court: Modified to six weeks beginning June 10 each year (vacation allocation balanced in favor of more equal quality time)
Geographic restriction on three-day weekend visitation	Smith: Tennessee-only restriction is unduly burdensome and unnecessary	Eaton: Restriction justified by child’s residence and logistics	Court: Removed Tennessee-only restriction; Smith may travel with child but bears all transportation costs
Attorney fees for jurisdiction dispute and for modification trial	Smith: Prevailing on jurisdiction — entitled to fees	Eaton: Fees inappropriate given prior conduct; seeks his trial fees as prevailing party	Court: Affirmed award of $6247.50 to Smith for jurisdictional litigation (Iowa UCCJEA); declined to award trial or appellate fees to either party

Key Cases Cited

In re Marriage of Hoffman, 867 N.W.2d 26 (Iowa 2015) (de novo review in custody modification and weight given to trial court credibility findings)
In re Marriage of Geil, 509 N.W.2d 738 (Iowa 1993) (overtime wages are includable in gross income unless speculative)
In re Marriage of Bircher, 535 N.W.2d 137 (Iowa Ct. App. 1995) (retroactive modification of support limited to three months after notice)
In re Marriage of Romanelli, 570 N.W.2d 761 (Iowa 1997) (trial court discretion governs award of attorney fees in custody proceedings)
Meier v. Senecaut, 641 N.W.2d 532 (Iowa 2002) (appellate preservation principle: issues must be raised and decided below)
In re Marriage of Harris, 877 N.W.2d 434 (Iowa 2016) (proof required to modify custody: substantial change and superior ability to minister to child)
In re Marriage of Brown, 778 N.W.2d 47 (Iowa Ct. App. 2009) (change in circumstances must be permanent and related to child’s welfare)
Christy v. Lenz, 878 N.W.2d 461 (Iowa Ct. App. 2016) (standard of review for attorney-fee awards)