Czunas v. Mancini

Citations

• 226 Conn. App. 256

Syllabus

The defendant, whose marriage to the plaintiff had previously been dis- solved, appealed to this court from the judgment of the trial court denying his motion to modify his child support obligation and ordering him to pay $10,000 to the plaintiff to defend against his appeal. Subse- quent to the dissolution judgment, the parties had entered into several stipulated agreements that reduced the defendant's weekly child support obligation and expanded his parenting time with the parties' minor child. The defendant claimed, inter alia, that it was inequitable for him to continue paying child support in light of the parties' shared parenting plan. Held: 1. The defendant could not prevail on his claim that the trial court improperly found that there had been no substantial change in the parties' circum- stances since the date of the previous child support order so as to warrant a modification of his child support obligation; there was no change in the custody of the child that would have required the redirec- tion of child support to the defendant under the applicable statute (§ 46b- 224), as the parties alternated weekends with the child and had enjoyed shared custody for several years, and the extension of the defendant's weekend parenting time from Sunday evening to Monday morning consti- tuted a minimal change, extending his time with the child by little more than twelve hours every other week, including when the child was sleeping between Sunday evenings and Monday mornings. 2. The trial court did not abuse its discretion when it ordered the defendant to pay the plaintiff $10,000 for attorney's fees to defend against his appeal; the court's determination that the defendant had substantial liquid assets that the plaintiff did not have was supported by the parties' financial affidavits. Argued February 8—officially released June 18, 2024