In re Marriage of Zisch

In In re Marriage of Zisch, 967 P.2d 199 (Colo.Ct.App. 1998) the Court held that a $ 262,000.00 capital gain from the sale of stock should be included in the father's income for determining the modification of child support. It stated that under the child support statutes, capital gains were specifically included in the definition of "gross income." The Court noted that the statutes did not directly address the issue and prior cases had approved a variety of approaches to accounting for the receipt of money from nonrecurring sources. The Court held that capital gains should initially be included in the recipient's gross income for the year received, but the trial court could exercise its discretion to deviate from the guidelines in determining the ultimate child support obligation. Id. at 203. It stated that any deviation must be accompanied by findings specifying the reasons for the deviation, and that income generated from the capital gain in later years should be included in the obligor's income. The Court held that receipt of the capital gain constituted a "substantial and continuing" change of circumstances subject to modification, and rejected the trial court's approach of prorating the capital gain over the father's expected lifetime.