Matter of Fowler v Rivera |
2008 NY Slip Op 06452 [53 AD3d 659] |
July 29, 2008 |
Appellate Division, Second Department |
Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431. |
In the Matter of Karen Fowler, Appellant, v Oswaldo Rivera, Respondent. |
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John Fazzini, P.C., Huntington Station, N.Y., for respondent.
Ordered that the order is modified, on the law and in the exercise of discretion, by increasing the amount of arrears the father is directed to pay from the sum of $100 per month to the sum of $800 per month; as so modified, the order is affirmed, with costs to the appellant.
The mother correctly argues that the Family Court order directing the father to pay the sum of only $100 per month towards reducing child support arrears of approximately $25,000 was inadequate and insufficient, and bears no appropriate relationship to the father's ability to pay the arrears (see generally Matter of Villota v Zelenak, 203 AD2d 370, 371 [1994]). Moreover, given the significant amount of arrearages and the father's failure to proffer credible evidence of his purported inability to pay, we modify the order to the extent indicated (see generally Matter of Watson v Watson, 21 AD3d 497, 498 [2005]; Matter of Sapp v Taylor, 298 AD2d 590, 591-592 [2002]). Skelos, J.P., Covello, Leventhal and Belen, JJ., concur.