In the Matter of the Marriage of Morgan and Morgan

OAR 137-050-0715(7)(b)(2012) states that in making a child support determination, a parent with a "verified disability" will have their income calculated as their actual income rather than their "presumed" income.

In a judgment of dissolution, wife appeals the trial court’s division of property and both the child and spousal support determinations. The wife’s income was derived from work as a server while the husband earned $11000 a month from a mixed-use property in Seattle. The trial court awarded the couple joint custody of their child and ordered the husband to pay the wife $3,000 per month for three years and $1,000 a month for five years after that. The property was divided by the husband receiving the Seattle property and the wife receiving the family home. The husband paid $150,000 to equalize the value discrepancy between the two properties. Wife argues that the court erred by awarding the husband the higher valued real property, that the spousal support figure is too low due to the court’s error in calculating the husband’s future earnings, and the child support determination was an error because of a miscalculation of both parties’ presumed income. The Court held that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in the way it divided the property or determined spousal support because the Seattle property was an inherited business interest and separate asset of the husband and the wife age and medical situation made the spousal award a reasonable one. However, the Court held that the lower court erred in calculating the wife’s presumed income as it relates to the child support determination because the wife’s medical condition did not allow her to work which left her without income through 2012. Child support award remanded, otherwise affirmed.