Background
Robert S. Wigget, Jr., an incarcerated and self-represented parent, sought to reduce a child-support obligation that had been set at $50 per month around 2014. He alleged that his circumstances had materially changed because he earned only $26 per month in prison and argued that Nebraska’s child-support guidelines justified reducing his obligation to $5 per month.
At the modification hearing, Wigget participated by telephone and presented arguments, but he was not sworn as a witness and offered no exhibits. Although the district court took judicial notice of certain filings, the record contained no evidence of Wigget’s financial circumstances when the original order was entered or of the expected length of his incarceration. The district court denied modification, reasoning that the existing $50 obligation was a reasonable minimum-support order.
The Court’s Holding
The Nebraska Court of Appeals affirmed. Reviewing the record de novo for an abuse of discretion, the court held that Wigget failed to carry his burden of proving a material change in circumstances warranting modification. His incarceration alone did not relieve him of his support obligation, and his unsworn statements were not evidence.
Without evidence of Wigget’s income when the original order was entered or the duration of his incarceration, the courts could not determine whether his financial position had materially changed or whether his reduced income was temporary or permanent. The appellate court also rejected his subsistence-limitation argument because Nebraska’s guidelines expressly permit minimum support despite that limitation.
The court agreed that Nebraska law generally requires a child-support worksheet when support is awarded, including in nominal-support cases. But because the district court denied modification and made no change to the existing obligation, it was not required to attach a new worksheet.
Key Takeaways
- A parent seeking modification bears the burden of presenting admissible evidence of a material change in circumstances and that modification serves the child’s best interests.
- Incarceration may justify support below Nebraska’s usual minimum, but it does not automatically establish entitlement to a reduction.
- Unsworn statements at a hearing are not evidence, and no new child-support worksheet is required when modification is denied and the existing award remains unchanged.
Why It Matters
The decision underscores that an incarcerated obligor must build an evidentiary record comparing current circumstances with those existing when support was last set. Allegations and informal statements about prison income, without sworn testimony or admitted documents addressing prior income and the duration of incarceration, will not satisfy the burden for modification.
It also clarifies the worksheet requirement: although courts awarding or changing nominal support generally must document their calculations, a court need not prepare a new worksheet merely to deny a requested modification.