Patnode v. Urette, 2015 Vt. 70

Parents separated; mother filed a parentage action in May 2010 for their daughter (b. 2006). Child-support litigation followed.
Father is a minority owner (45%) of Tampa Palms Professional Center, a family-owned real-estate development business.
Tampa Palms had two eminent-domain dispositions: a 2008 sale producing a large capital gain (Tampa Palms’ gain ~$6.36M; father’s reported taxable share ~$1.73M and received distributions to cover tax), and a 2010 like-kind exchange sale that produced no taxable gain or distribution to father.
Magistrate initially imputed annualized income to father from the 2008 capital gain (using long-term Treasury rate) but treated the 2010 sale as non-income.
Family division reversed the imputation from 2008, remanded; magistrate recalculated without imputing the 2008 gain; family division affirmed. Mother appealed to the Vermont Supreme Court.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether 2008 eminent-domain gain could be imputed as father’s income for 2010 child-support calculation	Patnode: 2008 proceeds were income to father and should be included in available income	Urette: 2008 proceeds were remote in time and/or converted to company assets; not available income in 2010	Court: 2008 receipt was too remote to count as income in 2010; once reinvested it became assets (income-producing) and statute only imputes income to non-income-producing assets
Whether 2010 like-kind exchange sale could be imputed as income to father	Patnode: 2010 transaction increased father’s asset base and ought to support imputed income	Urette: No taxable gain or distribution occurred; father received no funds for personal use; assets remained income-producing company property	Court: No imputation; father received no distribution and assets were income-producing, so statute does not permit imputing income from those assets

Miller v. Miller, 882 A.2d 1196 (Vt. 2005) (statutory construction of child-support provisions reviewed de novo)
Cantin v. Young, 770 A.2d 449 (Vt. 2001) (determination whether payments are statutory gross income is a question of law)
Tetreault v. Coon, 708 A.2d 571 (Vt. 1998) (employment history can bear on imputing income for voluntary underemployment)
Golden v. Cooper-Ellis, 924 A.2d 19 (Vt. 2007) (using historical averages when income fluctuates is permissible)
Clark v. Clark, 779 A.2d 42 (Vt. 2001) (statute permits imputing income only from non-income-producing assets)
C.D. v. N.M., 631 A.2d 848 (Vt. 1993) (funds not distributed for personal use are not income for child-support purposes)
Bergman v. Marker, 944 A.2d 265 (Vt. 2007) (retroactive child support may be imposed back to date action was filed)