Alcoholism Not Automatic Grounds To Modify Alimony and Child Support Payments

By Christina Rentz

Published on September 13, 2005

In Delaware, a person who loses his or her job because of substance abuse is deemed to have lost the job voluntarily and can be ordered to pay alimony and child support based on earning potential rather than actual earnings. Suzanne Augnst was relying on this legal precedent when she filed an appeal in August. Ms. Augnst petitioned the court to increase her alimony and child support payments by calculating them based on her husband's previous six-figure income instead of his current $20,000 annual income.

When Ms. Augnst was married to the defendant, William Augnst, he owned his own business that brought in $120-150,000 annually. Ms. Augnst claimed that her ex-husband lost his business because he developed a bad drinking problem. However, William Augnst contended that he lost his business because of brain damage he suffered after being electrocuted and falling 40 feet off a ladder.

The trial court did not grant Suzanne Augnst additional alimony and child support. The court found that, while alcoholism may have contributed to the failure of the business, William's alcoholism was just one of many potential reasons for the business's demise. Because it could not be proven that alcoholism was the sole reason the business failed, the panel of three judges ruled that the court had no authority to modify the existing alimony and child support agreement.

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