Laconia, NH–Here’s another wonderful example of the absolute disregard our family law system has for fathers as anything but wallets.
In this case, a distraught/disturbed man shot himself in the face and ended up disabled, perhaps crippled. Yet, according to the Associated Press, the man can’t get a reduction on his child support because the “Laconia Family Court had ruled that Calvin Dunn should be considered voluntarily underemployed because his injury was self-inflicted.”
Yeah, smart judge there–Dunn shot himself in the face to try to get out of child support, but our clever jurist smoked out the deadbeat’s scam.
Mercifully, the New Hampshire Supreme Court has now overruled this. According to the AP:
The New Hampshire Supreme Court says a man who shot himself in the face in a failed suicide attempt shouldn’t be considered voluntarily underemployed when it comes to paying child support.
Under state law, a parent who purposely takes a low-paying job to avoid paying more child support can be ordered to pay based on his or her past earnings. But the provision doesn’t apply to someone who is physically or mental incapacitated.
A Laconia Family Court had ruled that Calvin Dunn should be considered voluntarily underemployed because his injury was self-inflicted. But the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday that how someone becomes incapacitated is irrelevant.
It reminds me of the Francis Borgia case in Kentucky a few years ago. To hear my radio commentary on it, click here.