170 A.3d 803
Me.2017Background
- Parties divorced in 2008; mother (West-Harper) had primary residence and father (Teele) was ordered to pay child support.
- Teele applied for SSA disability in Sept 2014, continued paying child support while application was pending; SSA awarded disability with entitlement retroactive to Oct 2014 and monthly dependent benefits beginning March 2016.
- SSA paid each child a lump-sum retroactive dependent benefit covering Oct 2014–Feb 2016 while Teele had paid support for that same period.
- Teele moved in May 2016 to modify the 2008 child support order, seeking (among other things) reimbursement/credit for support paid during the period covered by the SSA retroactive payments.
- The trial court amended support prospectively (and made the amendment retroactive only to the May 2016 service date), allowed a dependent-benefit credit going forward, but denied reimbursement for prior payments because the 2008 order did not identify a Social Security offset.
- Teele appealed; the court of appeals affirmed.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether §2107 entitles Teele to a credit/reimbursement for child support he paid before an order expressly granting a dependent-benefit credit | Teele: §2107 requires a court to give credit for dependent benefits and thus entitles him to reimbursement for payments that overlapped the SSA retroactive benefits | State/West-Harper: §2107 gives credit only when a child support order (initial or amended) expressly makes the findings and provides the credit; absent that, no statutory authority to reimburse past payments | Held: §2107 requires the credit to be identified in the order that creates the obligation to which the credit applies; no reimbursement for payments made under the 2008 order that lacked such a finding |
| Whether the amended support order could be made retroactive to the SSA entitlement start (Oct 2014) rather than to the date the modification petition was served (May 2016) | Teele: common-law Wood exception allows retroactivity when support is effectively supplanted (child becomes eligible for substitute support); amended order should relate back to SSA entitlement start | West-Harper: §2009(2) limits retroactivity to the date the modification petition was served; Wood's second exception was not codified and does not permit broader retroactivity here | Held: §2009(2) controls; amended order may be retroactive only to date of service (May 2016); Wood's omitted exception does not entitle Teele to earlier retroactivity |
Key Cases Cited
- Young v. Young, 973 A.2d 765 (Me. 2009) (§2107 credit must be established by a child support order that makes the statutory findings)
- Wood v. Wood, 407 A.2d 282 (Me. 1979) (common-law framework on retroactivity of child-support modifications)
- Roberts v. Roberts, 697 A.2d 62 (Me. 1997) (divorce and incidental relief jurisdiction is purely statutory)
- Brochu v. McLeod, 148 A.3d 1220 (Me. 2016) (discussion of arrearages and defenses in child-support context)