Hotz v. Hotz (Nebraska 2018)

The Nebraska child support guidelines exclude alimony from the definition of income for child support purposes. The father appealed a district court order that modified the mother’s support obligation to him and granted her other requested relief. The father argued that his alimony obligation should have counted as income to the mother and that depreciation should have been excluded from his income. This appeal went directly to the Supreme Court. The Court explained that in an initial support order, alimony is determined after support is set, so it isn’t included as income. The Court acknowledged that the guidelines don’t specifically exclude alimony as income. However, the Court reasoned that including alimony as income after it is set opens up all initial support orders with both alimony and support to immediate modification. The Court found that the father didn’t provide the necessary documentation to prove he was entitled to a deduction for depreciation.