Bustamante v. Donawa
| Decision Date | 02 July 2014 |
| Citation | 119 A.D.3d 559,987 N.Y.S.2d 889,2014 N.Y. Slip Op. 04921 |
| Parties | In the Matter of Berta Alicia BUSTAMANTE, respondent, v. Patrick F. DONAWA, appellant. |
| Court | New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division |
119 A.D.3d 559
987 N.Y.S.2d 889
2014 N.Y. Slip Op. 04921
In the Matter of Berta Alicia BUSTAMANTE, respondent,
v.
Patrick F. DONAWA, appellant.
Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department, New York.
July 2, 2014.
Patrick F. Donawa, New York, N.Y., appellant pro se.
Berta Bustamante, Brooklyn, N.Y., respondent pro se.
In a child support proceeding pursuant to Family Court Act article 4, the father appeals from an order of the Family Court, Kings County (Katz, J.), dated December 11, 2012, which denied his objections to an order of the same court (Palos, S.M.), dated August 28, 2012, which, after a hearing, granted the mother's petition for an upward modification of his child support obligation set forth in an amended child support order dated August 4, 2008.
ORDERED that the order dated December 11, 2012, is affirmed, with costs.
The father contends that the Support Magistrate erred in basing his support obligation for the couple's child on an annual income of $54,342, as reflected in his 2011 tax returns arising out of his former occupation as a Traffic Device Maintainer, rather than on his annual income of $31,756.40, as reflected in his most recent pay stub arising out of his current occupation as an Emergency Medical Technician. The father's contention is without merit.
“The level of child support is determined by the parents' ability to provide for their children rather than their current economic situation” ( Signorile v. Signorile, 102 A.D.3d 949, 951, 958 N.Y.S.2d 476;see Gorelik v. Gorelik, 71 A.D.3d 730, 731, 895 N.Y.S.2d 717;Bigler v. Bigler, 299 A.D.2d 435, 436, 749 N.Y.S.2d 733;Matter of Zwick v. Kulhan, 226 A.D.2d 734, 641 N.Y.S.2d 861). “The court is not required to rely on a party's account of his or her finances, and may instead impute income based on the party's past income or demonstrated earning potential” ( Siskind v. Siskind, 89 A.D.3d 832, 834–834, 933 N.Y.S.2d 60). “ ‘A support magistrate is afforded considerable discretion in determining whether to impute income to a parent ... and that determination may properly be based upon a parent's prior employment experience’ ” (Matter of Genender v. Genender, 51 A.D.3d 669, 670, 858 N.Y.S.2d 673, quoting Matter of Bibicoff v. Orfanakis, 48 A.D.3d 680, 681, 852 N.Y.S.2d 324;see
Morille–Hinds v. Hinds, 87 A.D.3d 526, 528, 928 N.Y.S.2d 727;Matter of Gebaide v. McGoldrick, 74 A.D.3d 966, 967, 901 N.Y.S.2d 857;Matter of Moran v. Grillo, 44 A.D.3d 859, 861, 843...
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