Pott v. Kalamazoo Circuit Judge,__Mich App__(1999) No. 2017128 (March 5, 1999)
In the 1987 divorce between Nancy Pott and Albert Pott, Albert was ordered to pay child support for their children. In 1996 Nancy requested a review of the child support payments and a production of documents to the Friend of the Court (FOC). Albert provided the documents, but redacted the information about his new wife, Patty Pott, from the tax returns.
The trial court ordered the production of an unredacted version after the hearing showed "a very closely interlocking series of business transactions…[which] raised a concern that defendant might be diverting some of his income to Patty Pott so as to avoid child support obligations." Defendant claimed on appeal this was in violation of federal law, 26 USC 6103. The Court of Appeals disagrees, "the income tax returns and W-2's of Patty Pott are relevant and necessary to determine whether defendant is diverting income to Patty Pott in order to avoid increased child support payments. Discovery of these documents are necessary to clarify defendant's income, and will aid in promoting the facts and circumstances of this controversy, rather than aiding in their concealment." Affirmed.
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