Appellant Clinton Staffon appeals from the trial court’s denial of his request for a modification or suspension of his child support obligations, claiming that his incarceration following a criminal conviction has rendered him unable to earn an income. Having considered precedent from this and other states, we conclude that a child support obligor’s imprisonment for voluntary criminal acts is not grounds for a downward modification of child support obligations. Therefore, we affirm. Appellant and his ex-wife, Serina Staffon, were divorced on July 16, 2001. All issues pertaining to the divorce, including child support and the division of marital property, were settled by agreement between the parties. The final decree obligated appellant to pay $648 per month in child support for the couple’s one minor child. At the time of the decree’s entry, appellant was employed full-time and earned almost $40,000 a year. The decree divided the couple’s equity in the marital home equally, gave Serina exclusive use of the home, and made Serina responsible for mortgage, certain utility and tax payments relative to the home.
At the time of the decree’s entry, appellant was under indictment for felony drug possession and had been released under bond pending trial. Appellant made timely child support payments until September 13, 2001, when, following his conviction for drug possession, he began serving a six-year sentence in the penitentiary. Since that time, he has made no support payments. In October 2001, appellant transferred his one-half interest in the equity in the marital home to his attorney in satisfaction of attorney fees. Appellant then filed a motion with the superior court, claiming that a substantial downward change in his income while incarcerated warranted a modification or suspension of his child support obligations. Appellant asked that he be relieved of all support obligations while incarcerated, and that he be ordered to pay twenty percent of his gross earnings beginning ninety days after his release. Relying upon precedent, the trial court held that incarceration does not provide a basis for a downward modification of child support, and appellant’s request was denied.
