Jolene Sharpe N/k/a Lyon, Appellant v. Jyzyk Sharpe, Appellee

Summary

The Alaska Supreme Court affirmed the denial of Jolene's request to reduce her child support after she left a highly paid Anchorage job, moved to Stebbins, and adopted a subsistence lifestyle. The court held that the superior court properly considered her cultural, spiritual, and personal needs but could reasonably prioritize the financial effect of her voluntary unemployment on the child. Because Jolene raised her free-exercise claim for the first time on appeal and the record did not establish the elements necessary to evaluate it, the superior court's failure to address that claim sua sponte was not plain error. Justice Winfree, dissenting, would have remanded for findings based on Jolene's employment opportunities in Stebbins and consideration of her free-exercise argument.