Galvin v. Galvin, 288 Ga. 125

Thomas R. Galvin petitioned for downward modification of child support and increased visitation with his child; Wendy L. Galvin had primary physical custody and decision-making authority in the 2007 divorce judgment.
In 2008 and 2009, Galvin sought modifications citing his unemployment and mother’s income increase; trial court later modified support downward and increased visitation.
Trial court imputed Galvin’s income at $2,500 monthly due to training as a paralegal and perceived lack of job search efforts, while noting mother earned $2,500 monthly.
The court found a material change in circumstances for support but not for custodial arrangements, and adopted a parenting plan favorable to mother’s visitation schedule.
The modification order set Galvin’s support at $692 monthly and preserved mother’s health/dental insurance arrangement, with allocated uninsured medical expenses.
This appeal, granted under OCGA § 5-6-35(j), challenges retroactivity, income imputation, and insurance/expense allocations as part of the child support modification.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Retroactivity of downward modification	Galvin: upwardly argued retroactive effect to Feb 2008	Galvin: statute OCGA § 19-6-15(j) applies retroactively	No retroactivity; modification effective upon judgment, not date of petition
Imputation of income	Galvin: unemployment prevents imputation	Income imputed given prolonged unemployment and efforts absence	Court did not err in imputing income to Galvin
Mother’s reported income including tips	Galvin: tips not included; incorrect total	Evidence shows total monthly income including tips as $2,400.60	No error; evidence supports reported amount
Health and dental insurance modification	Galvin: insurance costs should be modified proportionally	No evidence to modify insurance obligations	No modification; court acted within discretion
Custodial/visitation arrangement impact	Galvin sought changes to reduce costs via daycare/custody changes	No material change in circumstances warranting different custody	Court did not err in not altering custodial plan beyond visitation

Hendrix v. Stone, 261 Ga. 874 (1992) (modification timing governs effective date of support changes)
Herrin v. Herrin, 287 Ga. 427 (2010) (emphasizes evidence of unemployment and lack of job-search efforts for imputing income)
Bankston v. Lachman, 286 Ga. 459 (2010) (income potential vs. actual earnings in imputation analysis)
Johnson v. Johnson, 284 Ga. 366 (2008) (health insurance decisions within trial court's discretion)