Motlagh v. Motlagh

Citations

• 2017 Ohio 8667
• 100 N.E.3d 937

Syllabus

The Plaintiff-appellee, in order to accomplish Defendant-appellant's move to the United States so that the parties could be married, executed, under 8 U.S.C. 1181 et. seq., an I-864 Affidavit of Support. Plaintiff-appellee, under the terms of the I-864 Support Affidavit, is obligated to insure that Defendant-appellant's income is at least 125% of the federal poverty line. The trial court, though acknowledging the I-864 support obligation, erred by not ordering Plaintiff-appellee to pay Defendant-appellant an amount that is sufficient to meet Plaintiff-appellee's I-864 support obligation. The trial court did not abuse its discretion by ordering Defendant-appellant to post a surety bond to insure that Defendant-appellant will not remove the parties' child from the United States. Finally, the trial court's decision not to award attorney fees relating to the divorce action was not an abuse of discretion, but the trial court did err by not considering whether to award Defendant-appellant attorney fees connected to the I-864 Affidavit of Support enforcement issue. Judgment affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded to the trial court for proceedings consistent with this opinion.