Walsh v. Walsh’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

27 state decisions

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 27 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “The adoption of the guidelines occurred in 1989. Their required use as establishing presumptively correct amounts to be awarded became effective 10 April 1990. Obviously, neither adoption of the guidelines for advisory purposes only nor requiring their use by the courts could affect support awards made thereafter in any unanticipated way. After the guidelines were adopted, and certainly after their use as establishing presumptively correct support standards was required, the courts and, presumably, the parties were aware of and familiar with the new guidelines and had an opportunity to rely on them in determining the proper amount of support to be awarded. Therefore, there should be no legitimate need to relitigate such awards unless and until one of the parties could show a material change in circumstances based on other factors. Moreover, the fact that the statute expressly made adoption of the guidelines the basis for a material change in circumstances claim clearly shows an intent to restrict application of the section to preguideline awards that were made without benefit of the new law. It is only with respect to support orders existing at the time the guidelines were adopted that the General Assembly would have deemed that there was a need for modification to obtain the benefits of the new guidelines.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Drummond v. State

2. “[The] obligation to pay one-half of the mortgage payments may have been a reason for ordering support below the guidelines. If so, when that obligation ceased, there could be a change of circumstances. Whether that change was material will have to be determined on remand. Only part of [the noncustodial parent’s] mortgage payments directly benefitted the children; part of the payments benefitted [the custodial parent] and part of the payments directly benefitted [the noncustodial parent] by increasing the equity in the house.... [A] remand is necessary to determine whether, based on the current circumstances including the cessation of [the noncustodial parent’s] mortgage payments, there was a substantial change of circumstances and, if so, giving due regard to the entire circumstances including the parties’ agreement and their change in income, what amount of child support should be ordered.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Drummond v. State

3. “We also point out for the bench and the bar that, while parties are encouraged to settle domestic disputes, when doing so, they must be mindful of the needs of their children. When a judge approves and incorporates an agreement of the parents into an order of support, the judge must do more than merely rubber stamp anything to which the parents agree____ In reviewing support agreements, judges should refer to the child support guidelines, and when approving and incorporating into a court order an agreement containing a downward deviation from the guidelines, the record should reflect the reasons why the judge adopted such an agreement. There is no exception in the [guidelines] statute for child support orders which are based on agreements of the parents.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Guidash v. Tome