Bryan E. Mitten v. Cynthia L. Mitten
2015 Ind. App. LEXIS 627
| Ind. Ct. App. | 2015Background
- Bryan (Father) and Cynthia Mitten (Mother) separated after a 2005 marriage; Father adopted Mother’s child (born 2000). Father filed for dissolution July 2013 and moved out; Mother and child remained in the marital home.
- At the March 4, 2014 final hearing, parties stipulated Mother would have primary physical custody; Father would have parenting time under the Parenting Time Guidelines. Parties agreed on division of many personal items and each retained their vehicle and associated debt; Father would keep his 401(k).
- The trial court calculated child support at $235/week (retroactive to shortly after filing), credited Mother $88.52/week for health insurance, and allowed no overnight-parenting credit beyond a 0–51 overnight range based on actual post-separation visitation.
- The court applied a credit of $2,216.40 (33.3% of $6,655.87 Father paid toward mortgage/utilities during the case) against Father’s retroactive arrearage.
- In property division, Mother received the net sale proceeds of the house ($1,724.30) and Father received his 401(k); Father was assigned three credit-card/loan debts (One Main, Fifth Third, Capital One) which he had proposed to assume; certain medical and family debts were split equally.
- Father moved to correct errors contesting child-support retroactivity and credits (health insurance, visitation, pendency payments) and the debt allocation; the court amended a finding re: rebuttal of equal division (acknowledging Mother’s $20,000 contribution) but left the decree intact. Father appealed.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument (Father) | Defendant's Argument (Mother) | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Child support: credit for Mother’s health-insurance premium | Court should limit credit to 5% of Mother’s weekly gross (about $39.70/week) because Guideline 7 caps “reasonable” cost at 5% | Mother actually pays $88.52/week; court may deviate and credit actual cost when supported by testimony | Affirmed: trial court did not abuse discretion; crediting actual weekly premium was reasonable and expressly deviated with justification |
| Child support: credit for overnight parenting time | Father requested credit for full Parenting Time Guidelines (98 overnights), or at least more than 0–51, arguing he shouldn’t be penalized for not forcing visits given child’s ADHD | Mother showed Father had minimal or no overnights post-separation; credit should reflect actual overnights | Affirmed: court permissibly credited Father with 0–51 overnights based on evidence of minimal overnight visits |
| Child support: credit for payments made during pendency (mortgage/utilities) | Father sought dollar-for-dollar credit or, alternatively, greater than 33.3% allocation toward child-support arrearage | Court treated most payments as temporary spousal maintenance and only part as child support; allocated 33.3% to child support | Affirmed: 33.3% allocation was within court’s discretion and not an abuse of discretion |
| Retroactive child support | Father argued retroactivity was improper because Mother did not seek provisional relief and accepted his pendency payments | Mother and court relied on authority permitting retroactivity to the date of petition; pendency payments did not preclude retroactivity | Affirmed: court may make initial child support retroactive to petition filing date; no abuse of discretion |
Key Cases Cited
- Bogner v. Bogner, 29 N.E.3d 733 (Ind. 2015) (Guidelines provide flexibility; parenting-time credit discretionary)
- Johnson v. Johnson, 999 N.E.2d 56 (Ind. 2013) (credit for health-insurance premiums paid by a parent)
- Boone v. Boone, 924 N.E.2d 649 (Ind. Ct. App. 2010) (discussion of retroactivity limits for child-support orders)
- R.R.F. v. L.L.F., 935 N.E.2d 243 (Ind. Ct. App. 2010) (payments during pendency sometimes must be credited; distinguishes gratuitous/nonconforming payments)
- Love v. Love, 10 N.E.3d 1005 (Ind. Ct. App. 2014) (standard of review and deference to trial court in dividing marital property)