Keith G. v. Suzanne H.

What is good for the goose is good for the gander. Here what was bad for the goose is now bad for the gander. A final 1986 California judgment requires Missouri resident Keith G. (father) to pay $253 per month to Suzanne H. (mother) for the support of their minor son, B. Father ignored this obligation for approximately eight years and owes mother approximately $25,000 in child support. In 1994, B. moved to Missouri to live with father. Father obtained a Missouri court order requiring mother to pay $277 per month in child support. He. sought civil enforcement of the order in California under the Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act (URESA). (Former Fam. Code, § 4800 et seq. now the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, Fam. Code, § 4900 et seq.) 1 Mother argued she was entitled to a setoff of approximately $25,000 of arrearages owed pursuant to the 1986 California judgment. The trial court agreed.

The Attorney General, representing father, contends on appeal that the setoff is an impermissible modification of the Missouri order that violates both URESA and the Full Faith and Credit for Child Support Orders Act (FFCCSOA). (28 U.S.C.A. § 1738B.) As we shall…

In its petition for rehearing, the Attorney General says: “To elaborate on the Court’s metaphor, what is bad for the goose may be bad for the gander, not to mention richly deserved. But it may also harm the gosling . . . .’’In essence, the Attorney General claims that while the opinion may achieve fairness between the litigants, it may do financial harm to the child.

*863 To be sure, in every child support case, the court should take into consideration the effect of its ruling on the children. We presume that the trial court, which fashioned the remedy that we affirm, took into consideration the financial impact that its ruling would have on the child. At the time it ruled, the trial court impliedly determined that no adverse financial effect would result and that father had adequate financial resources to support his son on his own. There is no reason for an appellate court to draw a contrary inference. Moreover, we also noted that this was not a case where government funds were being used to support the child. In this situation, the implied factual finding of the trial court is all the more compelling.

The Attorney General challenges the wisdom of our opinion, argues that it…

What is good for the goose is good for the gander. Here what was bad for the goose is now bad for the gander. A final 1986 California judgment requires Missouri resident Keith G. (father) to pay $253 per month to Suzanne H. (mother) for the support of their minor son, B. Father ignored this obligation for approximately eight years and owes mother approximately $25,000 in child support. In 1994, B. moved to Missouri to live with father. Father obtained a Missouri court order requiring mother to pay $277 per month in child support. He sought civil enforcement of the order in California under the Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act (URESA). (Former Fam. Code, § 4800 et seq. now the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, Fam. Code, § 4900 et seq.) [1] Mother argued she was entitled to a setoff of approximately $25,000 of arrearages owed pursuant to the 1986 California judgment. The trial court agreed.

The Attorney General, representing father, contends on appeal that the setoff is an impermissible modification of the Missouri order that violates both URESA and the Full Faith and Credit for Child Support Orders Act (FFCCSOA). (28 U.S.C.A. § 1738B.) As we…