Sandel v. Choma
2017 Ohio 8301
| Ohio Ct. App. | 2017Background
- Father (Choma) and Mother (Sandel) are divorced parents; support obligations shifted over time and ultimately Mother paid support to Father.
- CSEA calculated a child support overpayment by Mother of $12,587.37 as of August 14, 2014; later CSEA reported $12,409.31 as of March 31, 2016.
- Father moved (Jan 29, 2015) for increased child support and reimbursement of medical expenses he paid; Mother moved for repayment of the overpayment and reimbursement of medical expenses she paid.
- Magistrate (May 2016) found Mother had overpaid; after offsetting medical expenses and arrears, magistrate found Father owed Mother $7,320.61.
- Trial court amended income/support figures, used a $16,166.53 figure (from Father’s worksheet) as the overpayment, offset medical expenses and recalculated arrears, and entered judgment for Mother for $6,523.20.
- Father appealed, arguing the trial court double‑credited Mother for support payments; the appellate court agreed and remanded for recalculation.
Issues
| Issue | Father’s Argument | Mother’s Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the trial court erred in calculating Mother’s child‑support overpayment and net judgment | Trial court double‑credited Mother for child support payments, inflating the overpayment judgment | Trial court correctly offset CSEA overpayment with medical expenses and arrears to arrive at net amount owed to Mother | Reversed: court abused discretion by crediting Mother more than once; remanded to recalculate net amount |
| Whether the court retained jurisdiction to resolve support/overpayment after children’s emancipation | Father argued court had jurisdiction because motions were filed before emancipation and overpayments accrued earlier | Mother did not dispute jurisdiction; trial court proceeded to resolve past obligations | Court held it retained jurisdiction to reduce past support and overpayments to judgment and to offset arrearages against overpayments |
Key Cases Cited
- Bercaw v. Bercaw, 45 Ohio St.3d 160 (Ohio 1989) (court retains authority to reduce past support obligations to judgment)
- Mihna v. Mihna, 48 Ohio App.3d 303 (8th Dist. 1988) (domestic relations court may offset arrearages against overpayments)
- Jefferies v. Stanzak, 135 Ohio App.3d 176 (12th Dist. 1999) (equitable offset of support arrearages and overpayments is permissible)