In Schwier v. Schwier,[1] the supreme court found that a father made a sufficient prima facie showing of changed circumstances which warranted an evidentiary hearing on a possible modification to an existing child support order. After being indicted on federal charges, Matthew Schwier was placed on house arrest and resigned from his job. Schwier filed a motion to have his existing child support obligation modified based on a substantial reduction in income due to involuntary unemployment. Under Alaska Civil Rule 90.3, a parent may be granted a modification of child support based on a “material change of circumstances,” which will be presumed if there is a change in income of over 15%. After the court initially denied his motion on the grounds that he had failed to provide sufficient evidence of the reduction of income and the permanency of his unemployment, he refiled, attaching an income affidavit and arguing that his house arrest qualified as involuntary unemployment. The superior court again denied his motion without a hearing and without any extended findings of fact. On appeal, the supreme court reviews de novo the decision of a lower court to not hold an evidentiary hearing on a motion for a child support modification. The supreme court found that a court could only decline to hold an evidentiary hearing if the allegations contained within the motion are conclusory and raise no genuine issue of material fact. Finding that Schwier had met his prima facie burden through the submission of his income affidavit and explanation of his changed circumstances, the supreme court held that the superior court had erred by denying him an evidentiary hearing.
[1] 446 P.3d 354 (Alaska 2019)
