MichaWallace v. Wallace
| Docket Number: | 2006-CA-00035-COA | |
| Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Link Opinion Date: 09-11-2007 Opinion Author: BARNES, J. Holding: Affirmed |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Modification of child support - Material change in circumstances - Section 43-19-101 Judge(s) Concurring: KING, C.J., LEE AND MYERS, P.JJ., IRVING, CHANDLER, GRIFFIS, ISHEE, ROBERTS AND CARLTON, JJ. Procedural History: Bench Trial Nature of the Case: CIVIL - DOMESTIC RELATIONS |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 12-29-2005 Appealed from: WARREN COUNTY CHANCERY COURT Judge: Vicki Barnes Disposition: GRANTED PETITION FOR MODIFICATION OF CHILD SUPPORT. Case Number: 32,909 |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | |||
| Appellant: | MICHAEL JAKE WALLACE |
PATRICIA PETERSON SMITH |
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| Appellee: | DEBORAH BRAUN WALLACE (MCCOLLUM) | J. PEYTON RANDOLPH |
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Synopsis provided by:  If you are interested in subscribing to the weekly synopses of all Mississippi Supreme Court and Court of Appeals hand downs please contact Tammy Upton in the MLI Press office. |
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| Topic: | Modification of child support - Material change in circumstances - Section 43-19-101 |
| Summary of the Facts: | Deborah Wallace McCollum and Michael Wallace were granted a divorce based on irreconcilable differences. The property settlement agreement stated that Mr. Wallace would pay Ms. McCollum $325 per month, maintain a life insurance policy with their daughter as the beneficiary, provide medical and dental insurance, and establish a savings account for the daughter’s benefit. In 1999, Mr. Wallace voluntarily agreed to increase child support according to a cost of living index. Additionally, Mr. Wallace continued voluntarily paying all of the medical costs for the couple’s daughter and helped provide a vehicle for her in high school. When the couple’s daughter was nineteen, Ms. McCollum filed a petition for modification of child support, requesting that Mr. Wallace be required to pay one-half of their daughter’s college expense and one-half of her transportation costs. The chancellor issued a final judgment resulting in an increase of Mr. Wallace’s child support, payable directly to Ms. McCollum, of $907 per month. Furthermore, Mr. Wallace was ordered to continue to provide his daughter with a gas credit card; continue to pay all medical and dental expenses not covered by insurance; pay one-half of her college expenses, including tuition, books, fees, supplies, room and board less any scholarships or grants; pay $1,925 towards the daughter’s vehicle at $100 per month until paid; and one-half of the license plate and insurance expenses on her vehicle. Both parties’ requests for attorney’s fees were denied. Also denied was Mr. Wallace’s request for his daughter’s emancipation and his request that support payments be made directly to the daughter. Mr. Wallace appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | Mr. Wallace argues that the court erred and did not make a finding of a material change in circumstances prior to increasing child support. In order to obtain a modification of child support, the party seeking the change must prove there is a substantial and material change in the circumstances of one of the interested parties arising subsequent to the original decree. An increase in the payor’s income is a proper and common reason for an increase in child support. Modification based on an increase in an older child’s needs coupled with an increase in the payor’s income is proper as well. However, the custodial parent must provide evidence of increased costs and that the original award, due to increased financial obligations, no longer meets the child’s current needs. Additionally, the Mississippi Supreme Court has held that a child’s decision to attend college may be considered a material change in circumstances justifying child support modification. Here, the chancellor found a material change in circumstances had occurred because of the daughter’s age and proven expenses, especially with respect to her attending college. There was substantial evidence in the record to support the chancellor’s findings of a material change in circumstances. The record also contained evidence of several factors supporting modification besides the increased needs and expenses of older children, such as inflation and an increase in the financial condition and earning capacity of the payor-parent. Also, it was not contested that the earning capacity of Mr. Wallace had increased substantially in the seventeen years since the divorce. This fact may be considered a change in circumstances. Mr. Wallace was ordered to pay fourteen percent of his adjusted gross income, and also several other specified expenses for child support. Mr. Wallace argues that the increase in child support was improper because it was not supported by extraordinary circumstances. In certain circumstances, the guidelines of section 43-19-101 may be set aside. The chancellor found, after considering the relevant evidence, that the application of the fourteen percent guideline for child support alone was not reasonable in this case and thus ordered payment of other expenses in addition to the child support. The chancellor’s findings were adequate in support of her departure from the statutory guidelines. Under the facts of this case it was proper for the chancellor to order Mr. Wallace to pay one-half of his daughter’s college expenses. Mr. Wallace had the ability to pay for his daughter’s college expenses without substantially affecting his customary lifestyle. Mr. Wallace argues that the daughter’s transportation expenses are “ordinary” expenses and it was improper for the chancellor to order him to pay them. However, evidence and testimony in the record show the daughter’s need for reliable transportation. Mr. Wallace argues that the original property settlement agreement only required him to pay his daughter’s medical and dental insurance expenses and it is against public policy to force him now to pay her medical and dental expense. However, Mississippi law holds it is proper for health insurance and out-of-pocket medical expenses to be added on to the basic award of support. Mr. Wallace argues that there should be a downward adjustment in child support, because the chancellor did not take into account the expenses of his subsequent two children from his current marriage and his daughter’s own income from her part-time employment. Mr. Wallace’s annual adjusted gross income would still be well over $50,000 even if the estimated expenses for his other two children, calculated by Mr. Wallace to be $1,294.46, were deducted. Since the amount of the daughter’s income would fluctuate, as she was a college student and this income was from part-time work, it would not be proper to take this income into consideration. Mr. Wallace argues that since the daughter no longer lives permanently at her mother’s home, her mother should not receive the child support payments. Ms. McCollum is the daughter’s custodial parent and maintains a room and bathroom for her when she decides to come home on the weekends. Thus, the chancellor did not err in continuing to direct support payments to Ms. McCollum. |
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