Marriage of Malcolm and Corless CA1/1

I.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL

BACKGROUND

Malcolm and Corless married in 2006 and have two children, a daughter born in 2007 and a son born in 2010. Corless filed for divorce in late 2019, and a judgment of dissolution was entered in August 2020. Under a stipulated agreement, the parties have joint legal custody of the children and Corless has sole physical custody of them. At the time of the divorce, both parties were unemployed, and the issue of child support was reserved. In October 2021, at Corless’s request, the trial court entered an order directing Malcolm to pay $919 per month in child support. The parties stipulated to increasing the payment to the guideline child support amount of $1,200 per month in May 2023, based on Malcolm’s reported monthly gross income of $4,990. In June 2024, the Alameda County Department of Child Support Services (Department) moved to modify the child support order based on changed circumstances. Corless submitted a declaration stating that Malcolm had been arrested in Australia for “importing prohibited tier 2 goods and making misleading statements to officials” and was currently living in that country with his parents. She requested two additions…