Does a Change in Income Warrant an Adjustment to Alimony Payments in North Carolina?

When requesting a modification to spousal support, the requesting party must show that there has been a substantial change in circumstances to warrant an adjustment. A spouse paying support may believe that a decrease in their income is sufficient to establish a change in circumstances, but do North Carolina courts agree?

What is a Substantial Change of Circumstances?

North Carolina case law has established that, for a change in circumstances to be significant enough to call for a modification of alimony, it needs to be related to the dependent spouse’s financial needs and the supporting spouse’s ability to pay. The factors that are used to establish an alimony award should be considered when deciding to adjust alimony based on a substantial change. Those include income, earning capacity, standard of living, estates, and various other factors.

In other words, a change in income is not sufficient to establish a substantial change of circumstances on its own, a fact that has been established in the state’s case law. This issue was restated in a recent Court of Appeals case.

Icenhour v. Icenhour

In this case, Wife appealed and Husband cross-appealed an alimony order adjusting Husband’s support obligation. Both parties stated that the order lacked adequate findings of fact and conclusions of law.

Case Background

The parties separated in 2011 after nearly 25 years of marriage, and they entered into a consent judgment in 2012, with Husband agreeing to pay Wife $1,800 per month in alimony based on his income of $100,000 per year. In 2014, Husband moved to modify alimony, but his motion was denied as the financial circumstances of Husband and Wife had not changed substantially. He filed to modify again in 2018 and alleged that his income had decreased to $72,800. The trial court amended the alimony order to decrease Husband’s support obligation by $100 in January 2020, making the new alimony award $1,700 per month.

Husband stopped paying the full alimony amount by mid-2020, and Wife sought and received a show cause order. Husband filed a third motion to modify alimony in December 2020, alleging that he had been furloughed and then fired and that he was unemployed. At the hearing in this matter, Husband stated that he had found employment, and he was making approximately $59,500.

The Trial Court and Appellate Court Decisions

The trial court listed four findings of fact in the case:

1. Husband had been furloughed
2. He was then terminated due to no fault of his own
3. He found employment as a truck driver
4. His new income was $70,000 pre-tax

The trial court determined that there had been a substantial change in circumstances and adjusted the alimony award to $600 per month. Additionally, Husband was ordered to pay $100 per month toward his arrearage and $50 per month toward Wife’s attorney’s fees. Both parties appealed.

The Court of Appeals noted the trial court’s barebones findings were insufficient to justify a determination of a substantial change in circumstances. Additionally, Husband’s income, as reported in the findings, was not supported by the evidence provided. The trial court in Icenhour did not include enough findings to show that it considered all the relevant factors for determining a substantial change and for awarding $600 per month in alimony. Concluding that a substantial change exists based merely on a change in income is erroneous, according to case law.

The alimony order was vacated, and the case was remanded for further findings.