Hicks v. Quednow

197 S.W.3d 217, 2006 Mo. App. LEXIS 1157, 2006 WL 2128969
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedAugust 1, 2006
DocketWD 65900
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 197 S.W.3d 217 (Hicks v. Quednow) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hicks v. Quednow, 197 S.W.3d 217, 2006 Mo. App. LEXIS 1157, 2006 WL 2128969 (Mo. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

THOMAS H. NEWTON, Judge.

Mr. Scott M. Quednow appeals the judgment of the circuit court, denying a request to emancipate Travis Quednow, the son of Mr. Quednow and Ms. Patricia E. Hicks.

Factual and Procedural Background

Mr. Quednow and Ms. Hicks’ marriage was dissolved and Mr. Quednow was ordered to pay child support for their son Travis. Mr. Quednow paid child support until Travis turned eighteen. Subsequently, Mr. Quednow filed a motion to emancipate and terminate the child support in October 2004. Ms. Hicks filed an answer and motion to increase child support in December 2004. At trial, medical records from Research Psychiatric Center (Research) and Two Rivers Psychiatric Hospital (Two Rivers) where Travis was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia were admitted in evidence and Travis, Ms. Hicks and Mr. Quednow each testified. The circuit court found that Travis was mentally incapacitated and required Mr. Quednow to pay past due child support.

On appeal, Mr. Quednow contends the circuit court erred in finding that Travis, bom July 29, 1986, was not mentally incapacitated at the age of eighteen; he was not emancipated due to drug use and failure to take medication; and in awarding past due child support from August 2004 through November 2004.

Standard of Review

In a court-tried case, the judgment of the circuit court will be affirmed on appeal unless there is no substantial evidence to support it, it is against the weight of the evidence, or it erroneously declares or applies the law. Murphy v. Carron, 536 S.W.2d 30, 32 (Mo. banc 1976). We review the evidence and reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the circuit court’s decision and disregard all contrary evidence and inferences. Linton v. Linton, 117 S.W.3d 198, 202 (Mo.App. S.D.2003). “We defer to the trial court’s decision even if the evidence could support a different conclusion.” In re Kreutzer, 50 S.W.3d 334, 337 (Mo.App. S.D.2001).

Legal Analysis

Mr. Quednow who was obligated to pay child support after divorcing Ms. Hicks claims that Travis was not mentally incapacitated at eighteen, and, therefore, child support should be terminated. Travis had quit school at age sixteen, held only one job for a short time, and had used illegal drugs.

*220 Three requirements must be satisfied to extend child support beyond a child’s eighteenth birthday: (1) the child must be unmarried, (2) insolvent, and (3) mentally or physically incapacitated from supporting himself. Section 452.340.4 (2000) 1 . Section 452.340.4 states:

If the child is physically or mentally incapacitated from supporting himself and insolvent and unmarried, the court may extend the parental support obligation past the child’s eighteenth birthday.

“The evidence needed to show these elements must be substantial.” King v. King, 969 S.W.2d 903, 905 (Mo.App. W.D.1998). Various means can be used to establish mental incapacity, such as medical testimony. State ex rel. Albert v. Sauer, 869 S.W.2d 853, 855 (Mo.App. W.D.1994). The issues of marriage and insolvency have not been presented on appeal, so the only question is whether Travis was mentally incapacitated from supporting himself at the age of eighteen.

A mental condition alone is insufficient to support a finding of mental incapacity. There must be evidence connecting the mental condition to an inability of the child to support himself. Id. If the child is not incapacitated on his eighteenth birthday, the circuit court may not compel an extension of child support if the child becomes incapacitated after his eighteenth birthday. Bright v. Bright, 989 S.W.2d 196, 200 (Mo.App. S.D.1999).

According to the record, Travis was admitted to Research for major depression with- psychotic features in March 2004. He had not been eating and was seeing “molecules” floating in the air. Research records stated that he had a Global Assessment of Functioning 2 that was low enough to substantially impair his ability to work. When Travis left Research on March 30, 2004, he needed prescribed anti-psychotic and antidepressant medications and therapy, but he stopped taking the medication and later discontinued therapy.

It is not enough to say that Travis had paranoid schizophrenia with hallucinations either before or after his eighteenth birthday. The question is whether there was evidence the circuit court could find that the limitation on his functioning with respect to the ability to support himself existed on his eighteenth birthday. The answer to that question is yes. Given the lay testimony that his situation changed little it was reasonable for the circuit court to conclude that Travis’s functional limitations existed before, on the date of his birthday and after he turned eighteen.

Travis’s testimony at the hearing was apparently persuasive to the circuit court too. “The trial court is in the best position to judge the credibility of the witnesses and may believe all, part, or none of any witness’s testimony.” Fester v. Foster, 149 S.W.3d 575, 579 (Mo.App. W.D.2004) (quoting Gant v. Gant, 923 S.W.2d 527, 530 (Mo.App. W.D.1996)). Travis testified that he lived at home with his mother Ms. Hicks. He stated that upon release from Research, he continued to see “molecules” in the air as well as rats and snakes on the ground. After hearing this testimony the circuit court determined that Travis was credible and not faking his mental problems. Travis turned eighteen on July 29, 2004.

*221 Furthermore, the record shows that Travis’s mental condition worsened. In December 2004, Travis was diagnosed with schizophrenia based on a guarded demean- or and hallucinations. At Two Rivers in January-February 2005, Travis was treated for schizophrenia and his Global Assessment of Functioning was low. The Two Rivers medical records also indicated that Travis was having difficulty concentrating during the summer of 2004, and he had become increasingly confused, bizarre, and paranoid. Furthermore, a report from Two Rivers recommended that a guardian be appointed for Travis because he could not care for himself. With this information, the circuit court found sufficient evidence to consider the mental conditions an ongoing problem that existed on Travis’s eighteenth birthday.

Mr. Quednow also contends that Travis was emancipated because his drug use and failure to take prescribed medications put him beyond parental control, and that his mental incapacity was self-inflicted. We do not find, nor does Mr.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
197 S.W.3d 217, 2006 Mo. App. LEXIS 1157, 2006 WL 2128969, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hicks-v-quednow-moctapp-2006.