In Re Marriage of Mosley

Dawn and Paul Mosley, both lawyers, dissolved their marriage. At the time of dissolution, Paul was a real estate partner at a large law firm and had a hefty income, and Dawn was the stay-at-home mother of their five children. Several years later, with the downturn in the real estate market, the law firm decided to pare down its real estate practice and Paul was terminated. He then took an in-house position with a homebuilder that paid a fraction of his former income as a base salary, together with the possibility of a substantial year-end bonus. Because a significant portion of Paul’s income was paid, if at all, as a discretionary year-end bonus, Paul sought a modification of the existing spousal and child support orders on the basis of a change in circumstances. The court denied the request and Paul appeals.

The evidence showed that the year after he left the law firm, Paul still had a large total income, given his base salary, year-end bonus and a one-time signing bonus, and also that he paid very substantial spousal and child support to Dawn that year. However, where he once made $447,150 per year with the possibility of a bonus, he now made $205,000 per year with the…