Cagata v. Cagata

475 S.W.3d 49, 2015 Ky. App. LEXIS 56, 2015 WL 1869482
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kentucky
DecidedApril 24, 2015
DocketNO. 2014-CA-000654-MR
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 475 S.W.3d 49 (Cagata v. Cagata) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cagata v. Cagata, 475 S.W.3d 49, 2015 Ky. App. LEXIS 56, 2015 WL 1869482 (Ky. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

OPINION

J. LAMBERT, JUDGE:

In. this post-dissolution proceeding, Ar-del Déla Calzada Cagata has appealed from the orders of the Jefferson Family Court ordering him to pay his children’s parochial high school tuition and associated costs pursuant to a settlement agreement. Finding no error, we affirm.

Ardel and Sandra Carrie Cagata (Carrie) were married in 1998 in Jefferson County, Kentucky. Three children, were born of the marriage:. Collin, born August 13, 1999; and twins Ethan and Camryn, born July 3, 2001. The parties separated in December 2006, and Carrie filed a petittion to dissolve the marriage in February 2007. In the petition, Carrie- requested that the court incorporate their property settlement agreement, into the decree, award joint custody, order Ardel to pay reasonable child support and maintenance, restore her non-marital property, equitably divide the parties’ marital real and personal property, and: provide for the payment of marital debts and financial obligations. Ardel -filed a response and counterclaim, requesting restoration of his non-marital property. Carrie was not working at the time she filed her petition, and Ardel was earning approximately $33,942.00 per month at Inpatient Care Specialist PLLC, a medical practice in which he had a 50% ownership interest.

On May 1, 2007, the family court entered a final decree dissolving the marriage, awarded the parties joint custody of the seven and five-year-old children, found the Agreed Order entered into between the parties to not be unconscionable, and incorporated this agreement into the decree. The Agreed Order, signed April 6, 2007, addressed several issues, including designation of Carrie as the primary residential parent, parenting time with the children, health insurance for the children, tax exemptions, payments into college funds, Ardel’s interest in Inpatient Care Specialist PLLC, the parties’ residences, the parties’ vehicles, life insurance policies, checking accounts, IRA accounts, and the payment of debts. The Agreed Order also specified that Ardel was to pay Carrie $4,000.00 per month in maintenance for three years or for one year from the date she obtained full-time employment, but she was not to receive maintenance any longer than three years from May 1, 2007. Specifically relatéd to the issue on appeal, Paragraph 6 of the Agreed Order stated:

The parties have agreed to deviate from the current Kentucky Child Support Guidelines, as a result of an agreement between the parties with reference to the payment of expenses for the children.
The month following the last maintenance payment, [Ardel] shall pay as child support to [Carrie] for the parties’ three (3) infant children the sum of $2,400.00 per month pursuant to Kentucky Revised Statutes. Said child sup[51]*51port is reviewable by agreement of the parties or order of the Court.

Paragraph 12 stated:

The parties agree that all three (3) children shall attend an agreed upon parochial school through the eighth grade, and [Ardel] agrees to pay the cost of tuition, books, registration and other fees, and uniforms for all three (3) children through'the eighth gradé, at an agreed upon parochial school.
The parties intend for the children to attend, parochial high school. [Ardel] agrees that it is his intention to pay. the cost of tuition, books, fees and uniforms for all three (3) children for a parochial high school, unless due to extraordinary financial circumstances, he is not able to make said payments.

More than six years later, in July 2013, Carrie filed a motion to enforce the Agreed Order. Specifically, Carrie sought to enforce Paragraph’ 12 regarding thfe parties’ agreement that Ardel would' pay for the children’s parochial high school costs, unless extraordinary financial circumstances prevented him from doing so. She stated that their oldest son would be entering high school in the fall, and she and Ardel had agréed that he would attend St. Xavier. Ardel had taken Collin to register for classes' and paid the registration fees, but then refused to pay the tuition and related costs as they had previously agreed. Carrie stated that Ardel earned approximately $33,942.00 per month, or $407,307.00 per year, in 2007, when he was also paying maintenance. Carrie attached a 2012 W-2 form from Norton Healthcare, Inc., showing that Ardel’s gross income was $415,822.66, and she noted that he was no longer paying maintenance. She asserted that=Ardel’s financial; circumstances had not changed in any extraordinary way, and he should therefore be required to comply with the terms of the Agreed Or-; der. • «- • ■. .,

- In response, Ardel objected to Carrie’s motion,' arguing that they had never agreed that he would pay for the children’s private high school tuition. Citing Miller v. Miller, 459 S.W.2d 81, 83 (Ky.1970), Ardel argued that a parent could not be forced to pay for private education absent proof that the public schools were inadequate to meet the child’s educational needs, which was not -at issue -in this ease. He argued that the language of the agreement; did not create a binding contract requiring him to pay for private high school because it would depend upon the circumstances and his financial situation. Ardel went on to state that he had accepted the debt -on the marital home pursuant to the Agreed Order, at a time when Carrie was unemployed and had no ability to pay that. debt. . He was also responsible for almost alíof 'the children’s expenses, including child care, private grammar school, college savings,' health insurance, and life insurance. He stated that after signing the Agreed Order, the real estate market dropped, and he had to sell the marital residence, along with the marital consumer debt that had' beén rolled into the mortgage, at a. loss, and he was solely responsible for paying off the unsecured marital debt of almost $300,000.00. He was paying $4,000.00 per month toward this debt.- ,

' Ardel stated-that he and Carrie had had several discussions • regarding private school: He had told her for several years that he had never agreed to. pay for private high school, that he could not afford private high school along with the other expenses he bore for the children including child support as well as the marital debt, and that there were good public high schools available for the children. He did not believe it was in the children’s best [52]*52interests to attend private high school due to his financial situation and Carrie’s - refusal-to help with the cost. He also pointed out that neither party intended for Collin to attend a parochial high school; they had encouraged him to attend a public school, duPont Manual High School (Manual), but his application was denied. When Ardel attempted • to suggest that Collin should attend either Ballard High School or North Oldham High School, Carrie refused and insisted that he attend St. Xavier along- with her step-sons. Ardel stated that Carrie promised to help by-paying 20% of private school for the three children as well as a portion of the additional costs of St. Xavier. Based on this promise, Ardel took Collin to -register for classes. However, Carrie refused to abide by her promise after he had been enrolled.

.Finally, .Ardel stated that his current income was approximately $885,000.00 per year, less than in 2007 when child support was calculated and when Carrie did not have an income.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
475 S.W.3d 49, 2015 Ky. App. LEXIS 56, 2015 WL 1869482, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cagata-v-cagata-kyctapp-2015.