Mark Richardson v. Melinda Richardson

CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedDecember 24, 2018
Docket77900-1
StatusUnpublished

This text of Mark Richardson v. Melinda Richardson (Mark Richardson v. Melinda Richardson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mark Richardson v. Melinda Richardson, (Wash. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON ) " 2, 1 0 1 rrl In the Matter of the Marriage of ) c--) ro— ) No. 77900-1-1 -I MELINDA RICHARDSON, ) — ti .:.— ) DIVISION ONE Respondent, ) : — ) and ) ) MARK RICHARDSON, ) UNPUBLISHED OPINION ) Appellant. ) FILED. December 24, 2018 )

SMITH, J. — Mark Richardson appeals the trial court's November 2017

order vacating its June 2017 child support order. Because the court abused its

discretion by vacating its June 2017 order, we reverse and remand to the trial

court to reinstate that order. We also hold that because Mark's entitlement to a

downward deviation is derived from the 50/50 residential schedule set forth in the

parenting plan, a modification of the parenting plan is required before that

deviation can be eliminated if a change in the residential schedule is the basis

stated for eliminating the deviation.

FACTS

Ongmal Child Support Order

The marriage of Mark and Melinda Richardson was dissolved in March

2012, following a trial before Judge Richard Eadie. At the time of dissolution, the No. 77900-1-1/2

Richardsons had five children, four of whom were then minors, aged 8, 10, 12,

and 17. In conjunction with the dissolution, the court entered a parenting plan

and ordered that the three youngest children reside equally with each parent on a

week-on, week-off basis beginning June 25, 2012. The court also ordered Mark

to pay maintenance to Melinda in a monthly amount that would decrease

incrementally each year, from $3,300 in the first year to $500 in the sixth

For purposes of child support, the trial court found that Mark's actual

monthly net income was $8,657. The court found that Melinda's monthly net

income was $8,340, including $3,500 per month of imputed income based on

Melinda's history of employment and $3,300 based on Mark's first-year

maintenance obligation. The court calculated Mark's presumptive amount of

child support owed (the standard calculation) to be $1,440 per month. But the

court granted a downward deviation to Mark that resulted in a zero-dollar transfer

payment, finding "[t]he children spend a significant amount of time with the

father" and "[t]he deviation does not result in insufficient funds in [Melinda's]

household to meet the basic needs of the children." The court also stated in its

written findings and conclusions entered in connection with the dissolution

decree:

Husband should be given a residential credit on child support once the 50/50 residential schedule is put in place and child support and the percentage allocation of direct costs deviated downwards so that there is no transfer payment and each parent pays 50% of direct expenses of children as listed in the Child Support Order.

2 No. 77900-1-1/3

Additionally, the trial court's order of child support dated March 28, 2012

(Original Child Support Order) orders each parent to contribute equally to the

following expenses not included in the transfer payment (collectively Direct

Expenses), with agreement not to be unreasonably withheld:

1) Prescription costs, and co pays not covered by insurance; 2) Agreed counseling and agreed therapy costs, and co pays not covered by insurance; 3) Agreed medical cost and agreed dental costs, and co pays not covered by insurance; 4) Agreed orthodontic cost; 5) Agreed educational expenses including agreed tutoring, agreed college counseling, agreed SAT Prep etc. 6) Agreed organized sports and agreed extracurricular activities, including agreed gear and agreed materials 7) Agreed cell phone and agreed cell phone plan.

The Original Child Support Order contemplates periodic adjustment as follows:

Per RCW 26.09.100, EXCEPT that the first adjustment may be initiated by either party as early as April 1, 2013 based on a full review of the wife's actual and/or imputed income. Parties shall exchange all information required by LFLR 10 by May 1 of each review year

Any adjustment shall include adjusting the ratios ... for payment of [D]irect [E]xpenses.

Melinda's 2014 Request To Adjust Child Support

On April 22, 2014, Melinda moved for an adjustment of child support

based on a change of income. She argued that due in part to the planned

incremental decrease in Mark's maintenance obligation, Mark's income had

increased and her income had decreased. Melinda's adjustment motion was

heard before a commissioner, who found that Mark's actual monthly net income

was then $8,903.39, that Melinda's actual monthly net income was $7,982.40,

and that the standard calculation for child support owed by Mark was $1,623.60.

3 No 77900-1-1/4

The commissioner adjusted the ratio for each parent's share of Direct Expenses

so that Melinda would pay 47.3 percent and Mark would pay 52.7 percent.

However, the commissioner declined to adjust the zero-dollar transfer payment,

concluding that this "issue would be more appropriate for a Petition for

Modification."

Melinda filed a motion for revision of the commissioner's ruling. This

motion was heard before Judge Eadie on August 1,2014. At the close of the

hearing, Judge Eadie orally granted the revision by vacating the commissioner's

ruling without prejudice to Melinda to bring a modification action. He invited the

parties to submit a proposed order to that effect but also suggested to the

parties: "You might even discuss—maybe you've got some way of resolving this."

The parties ultimately did resolve the issue via an agreed order, which the

court entered in August 2014 (Agreed Order). The Agreed Order provided for a

$500 transfer payment from Mark to Melinda and an allocation of Direct

Expenses such that Melinda would pay 47 percent and Mark would pay 53

percent.

Melinda's 2016 Request To Adjust Child Support

In August 2016, Melinda again moved to adjust child support on the basis

of changed income. She again argued that due in part to the planned

incremental reduction in Mark's maintenance obligation, Mark's income had

increased and hers had decreased. Melinda also claimed that the parties' then

15-year-old daughter had been living with her full time since August 2015.

Mark opposed the motion. He also requested that the 53/47 allocation of

4 No. 77900-1-1/5

Direct Expenses under the Agreed Order be revised to an equal allocation and

that the $500 transfer payment under the Agreed Order be reduced to zero.

On September 22, 2016, a commissioner pro tern entered a new child

support order (September 2016 Order) that eliminated the downward deviation

and ordered Mark to make a transfer payment equal to the standard calculation

of $2,270. In the September 2016 Order, the commissioner pro tem indicated

that she had denied Mark's request for a downward deviation because Mark had

a new spouse or domestic partner with an "unknown" income, the parties' 15-

year-old daughter was living with Melinda 100 percent of the time, and the "father

has a high income and does not have a need for a support reduction and a

reduction of support would leave insufficient income in the mother's household."

The commissioner pro tern also ordered that Mark pay a 67-percent share of

Direct Expenses and that Melinda pay a 33-percent share.1 The September

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Mark Richardson v. Melinda Richardson, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mark-richardson-v-melinda-richardson-washctapp-2018.