Ask the Normal Counsel: Courtroom permits ex-AOL government to chop baby assist obligations | firm

In this issue of Ask General Counsel, we discuss a July 2021 court order reducing spousal support obligations for a former AOL executive. If you have questions about this case, divorce, or family law matters, please contact Joanna Foard, who heads General Counsel PC’s divorce and family law practice. Joanna can be reached at jfoard@gcpc.com.

First of all, it should be noted that child support is always subject to judicial modifications. For more information, see this child support overview and this child support video.

One of the most important considerations during the divorce process is the issue of spousal support. Spousal support is an amount of money paid by one spouse to the more financially dependent spouse. An award of spousal support can usually be changed if one spouse can demonstrate a material change in circumstances justifying a change in the award. Courts can increase or decrease the amount or duration of the subsidy or end the subsidy altogether.

In a case in Loudoun County Circuit Court in July 2021, the court considered the executive’s request to change or reduce his spousal support obligations.

He and his wife married in 1987 and signed a separation agreement in 2016. The 2017 divorce decree granted the woman $10,000 a month in spousal support until November 1, 2027, in accordance with the separation agreement. At the time of the divorce decree, the husband worked for AOL and earned $712,000 in 2016, $364,000 in 2017 and $557,000 in 2018.

AOL was bought by Verizon, and in 2018 the husband became a Verizon employee, with his new position having less responsibility. According to court documents, he believed his position would be eliminated, so he accepted a voluntary severance package and his employment with Verizon ended in December 2018. His severance payment was paid in 2019 and totaled $825,000.

Husband worked for another company, CPG, in short-term consulting roles before accepting a full-time position at CPG beginning in 2020, with a salary of $250,000 and a potential bonus of $50,000. He filed an application to change spousal support in December 2019 while still looking for full-time employment.

When a court decides on spousal support, it considers several factors set forth in Virginia Code § 20-107.1(E), including the needs and financial resources of the parties; the property interests of the parties; employability and current employment opportunities for those able to work; and other factors necessary to reflect the equities between the parties. Code § 20-109(G) additionally provides that “the court shall continue to consider the assets or property interests of each of the parties from the date of the maintenance order and until the date of the hearing on the amendment or termination and any income from the property or ownership generated.”

Here, the wife argued that the husband’s acceptance of a “voluntary separation package” required the court to find that his departure was voluntary and that the court also required that the wife’s spousal support remain intact.

However, the court found a significant change in circumstances based on evidence that the husband’s income had deteriorated significantly since the divorce. Husband earned a total of $712,000 on AOL in 2016. At the time of the September 2020 amendment hearing, the husband was employed by CPG on a salary of $250,000 with a potential $50,000 bonus. The court found that his actual income in 2020 was significantly lower than at the time of the first commitment in 2016.

Based on the court’s findings on the parties’ income and expenses, it reduced spousal support by $4,000 from $10,000 to $6,000 per month. The court found that this bonus fully met the wife’s proven needs and also required the husband to use his assets to pay spousal support because the bonus was more than his income after expenses.

Read the full Virginia Court of Appeals ruling here: https://www.vacourts.gov/opinions/opncavwp/0010214.pdf

If you have questions about spousal support, divorce or any other family law matter, contact Joanna Foard at jfoard@gcpc.com. You can also watch a recent webinar called Ask Joanna, in which Joanna answers the top 20 family law questions new clients ask her.