Osmar v. Mahan

OPINION

FABE, Chief Justice.

I. INTRODUCTION

When the trial court calculated Mindy Lynn Osmar's child support obligation for her son, Steele, the court included in Mindy's income the Social Security benefits that Ashley, Mindy's child from a previous marriage, receives because of the death of Ashley's father. Yet, federal law restricts Mindy's use of these benefits to Ashley's care and maintenance; they are not available to support Steele. We therefore conclude that the trial court erred by including the payments in Mindy's income for purposes of determining child support under Alaska Civil Rule…