Voluntary Overpayment of Child Support - Wicker v. Hallman

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Wicker v. Hallman, [Ms. 2160229, Aug. 25, 2017] __ So. 3d __ (Ala. Civ. App. 2017). In a decision by Presiding Judge Thompson, (Pittman, Thomas, and Donaldson, JJ., concur, and Moore, J., concurs in the result), the court affirms the circuit court’s denial of the father’s motion to modify his child support obligation. The father contended that he had voluntarily overpaid child support and therefore was entitled to a modification of future child support obligations. In a matter of first impression, the Court of Civil Appeals adopted the rationale and holding of the Court of Appeals of Michigan in Pellar v. Pellar, 178 Mich. App. 29, 443 N.W.2d 427 (1989) that

[V]oluntary overpayments, even if made under a mistaken belief as to their legal consequences, do not create a credit against or otherwise serve to diminish the amount of the obligor’s subsequent court-ordered obligations. To hold otherwise would create an unacceptable possibility of jeopardizing the child’s right to receive support for his or her needs.

Ms. *12-13.

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