Johnson v. Faris, Appeal No. 2017AP1590

• Decision Date: 13 February 2019
• Docket Number: Appeal No. 2017AP1590
• Parties: In re the Marriage of: Jennifer Dawn JOHNSON f/k/a Jennifer Dawn Faris, Petitioner-Respondent, v. Sean Michael FARIS, Respondent-Appellant.
• Court: Wisconsin Court of Appeals

386 Wis.2d 350
927 N.W.2d 151 (Table)
2019 WI App 15

In re the Marriage of: Jennifer Dawn JOHNSON f/k/a Jennifer Dawn Faris, Petitioner-Respondent,
v.
Sean Michael FARIS, Respondent-Appellant.

Appeal No. 2017AP1590

Court of Appeals of Wisconsin.

DATED AND FILED February 13, 2019

PER CURIAM.

¶1 Sean Michael Faris appeals pro se from an order dismissing his motion to review family support, terminate maintenance, and set child support. For the reasons discussed below, we affirm.

¶2 Jennifer and Sean married in 1991 and divorced in 2010. At the time of their divorce, they had four minor children. Sean worked as a pediatrician and was the family’s primary wage earner, while Jennifer was a stay-at-home mother during a significant portion of the marriage. Sean and Jennifer entered into a partial marital settlement agreement (MSA) providing that Sean would pay Jennifer $6500 each month in family support until September 30, 2017. The MSA did not separate the family support total into amounts attributable to child support and to maintenance, and stated that the "income figures" used in calculating family support were Sean’s yearly base salary of about $217,000, and imputed income to Jennifer in the annual amount of $25,000. The MSA also provided that Sean would pay Jennifer twenty-three percent of any income above his $217,000 base salary as additional family support. Each party would pay half of the children’s variable expenses. Family support payments would be counted as taxable income to Jennifer and would serve as a deduction for Sean.

¶3 The parties agreed that maintenance and child support would be held open during the period of family support. Upon the termination of family support, maintenance would terminate, and child support would be set. The MSA’s family support termination provision stated:

3.2 Termination. Family support shall terminate on September 30, 2017, or earlier upon the death of either party or the remarriage of the Petitioner. A marriage like relationship of the recipient spouse shall constitute a substantial change of circumstances and subject Family Support to review.

¶4 In June 2013, upon the parties’ stipulation, the circuit court ordered Sean’s family support payments increased to $7000 each month, and that Sean would be responsible for all of the children’s variable expenses.¹ The stipulation stated that Sean’s annual base salary had increased to $280,500 and that annual income of $25,000 would remain imputed to Jennifer. Sean would continue to pay as additional family support twenty-three percent of income received in excess of his now-increased $280,500 base salary. The stipulation stated that the modified amount of family support took into consideration that Sean was now responsible to "pay all variable expenses."

¶5 In August 2016, thirteen months before the termination of the family support order, Sean filed a motion to review family support, terminate maintenance, and set child support. Jennifer filed a countermotion to dismiss, and Sean amended his motion. Sean’s amended motion sought an order terminating family support and maintenance, and setting child support at $1982 per month, retroactive to September 1, 2016. As grounds for modification, Sean asserted there was a substantial change of circumstances since the June 2013 order in that Jennifer completed her undergraduate degree in May 2014, she had not worked since April 2015, she had lived in her "boyfriend’s mortgage free home since September 2015 and pays no rent," she had taken vacations rather than working, and she was making accelerated bankruptcy payments without working. Sean averred,

That the above constitutes a substantial change of circumstances, as it was intended that the Petitioner would complete her degree, work, and be self-supporting, rather than choosing not to work, and living rent free, while traveling and overpaying on her Chapter 13 plan with my support money.

¶6 Following a postjudgment hearing held over two days, the circuit court dismissed Sean’s motion, determining that Sean "has not demonstrated a substantial change of circumstances since the last support Order was entered." After dismissing Sean’s motion, the parties entered into a stipulation regarding child support, which provided that upon the termination of family support and commencing October 1, 2017, Sean would pay child support in the monthly amount of $1500 for the remaining minor child. The court accepted the stipulation,...