MT. VERNON - A father can receive no credit for voluntarily increasing child support payments, must pay post-secondary education costs and maintenance and is liable for the mother's attorney fees of more than $11,000, an appeals court has ruled.
The Fifth District Appellate Court affirmed a judgment handed down by St. Clair County Circuit Court in favor of Cheryl Druse, the mother of the now 22-year-old daughter.
This includes a ruling that Scott Schruman made "zero contributions" to a college fund for his daughter because other members of his family put the money into the account and therefore they are regarded as gifts.
The couple had their daughter in 1997 but never married. Schruman paid court-ordered child support from when the child was born. From May 1, 2001, through February 28, 2015, Schurman voluntarily paid $29,332, which was more than the court-ordered $18,600 in child support owed.
Druse first filed the court action claiming Schruman was not paying the correct amount of child support in February 2015, when the child was almost 18. An amended petition was later filed asking for post-secondary expenses. During the proceedings, Schruman's lawyer stopped representing him, and he filed for bankruptcy.
Schurman had asked that the more than $10,000 he paid above what was ordered by a court be taken into account when judging what he owed.
"In an apparent effort to avoid the expense of hiring attorneys to obtain a court-ordered increase in child support based upon increases in Schurman’s income, Schurman voluntarily modified the amount of his child support payments," the appeals court stated.
The trial court first entered an order of child support in 1998 and a second order that increased the amount in 2001. Over the years the child support amount was increased in amounts to which Druse and Schurman agreed, the appeals panel stated.
"Illinois law does not allow credit for voluntary over payments of child support," Justice Milton Wharton ruled, with Justices Judy Cates and Mark Boie concurring. The order was filed under Supreme Court Rule 23 and may not be cited as precedent.
In March 2018, the trial court calculated that the retroactive child support Schurman owed from March 1, 2015, to May 17, 2016, was $10,034 and entered judgment against Schurman in that amount, plus nine percent interest per year accruing from the date of the order.
Schurman was further ordered to pay $400 a month for post secondary education until his child graduates, or turns 23. The appeals court did find that the trial court failed to place an end date for these payments and returned that issue to Judge Julia Gomric.
A judgment of $8,800 was entered against him for post secondary payments due between May 17, 2016 and March 31, 2018.
The trial court found that a 529 account to pay for college expenses was funded by members of his family and, therefore, "Schurman made zero contributions to the account." The appeals court agreed.
At "some point" during the court action, Schurman filed a Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition in the United States Bankruptcy Court. Druse was "successful in lifting the automatic stay which allowed her to proceed with the child support and post secondary education expenses and maintenance case in the state trial court."
The court kept the attorney fees award at the same amount, a total of $11,192.
"We find that the trial court’s order awarding Druse’s request for attorney fees was well within the court’s discretion....given Schurman’s flagrant and consistent disregard of established discovery rules as well as trial court orders," the appeals court concluded.
From September 2016, Schurman had no legal representation after his attorney withdrew from the case. The lower court, and the appeals panel, rejected Schurman's argument that his financial situation was not considered when calculating the attorney fees.