Ohlemacher v. Ohlemacher, Unpublished Decision (2-9-2005)

2005 Ohio 474
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedFebruary 9, 2005
DocketNo. 04CA008488.
StatusUnpublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 2005 Ohio 474 (Ohlemacher v. Ohlemacher, Unpublished Decision (2-9-2005)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ohlemacher v. Ohlemacher, Unpublished Decision (2-9-2005), 2005 Ohio 474 (Ohio Ct. App. 2005).

Opinions

DECISION AND JOURNAL ENTRY
{¶ 1} Appellant, Cynthia A. Ohlemacher ("Cynthia"), appeals from the judgment of the Lorain County Court of Common Pleas, Domestic Relations Division, that granted her motion for modification of child support and ordered Appellee, Jeffrey B. Ohlemacher ("Jeffrey"), to pay child support in an amount constituting a downward deviation from the guideline support amount. We affirm.

I.
{¶ 2} Cynthia and Jeffrey were married in 1981, and had three children during the marriage, Michael, d.o.b. January 15, 1985, Matthew, d.o.b. June 23, 1986, and Daniel, d.o.b. June 30, 1990. Cynthia and Jeffrey were divorced on February 14, 1994, and, pursuant to a Shared Parenting Plan ("Plan"), Cynthia became the residential parent and custodian of all three children. The judgment entry of divorce originally required Jeffrey to pay $2,500.00 per month in nonmodifiable spousal support, subject to automatic termination on December 31, 1999 or the death of either party, whichever came first.

{¶ 3} Pursuant to the Plan, Jeffrey was required to pay $2,500.00 per month, plus poundage, in child support for the three children ($833.33, plus poundage, per month, per child). Additionally, the Plan also made Jeffrey establish and fund a college education trust for each child, in the amount of $3,333.33 per year, per child. As to health insurance, the court ordered Jeffrey to maintain coverage for all three children, and to pay 80% of remaining uninsured expenses after Cynthia pays the first $100.00 of uninsured expenses per calendar year per child. The Plan expressly noted that all matters addressed by the Plan were subject to modification and further order of the court.

{¶ 4} On November 29, 1999, Cynthia filed a motion to modify child support, asserting that Jeffrey's income had increased since the time of divorce and the current needs of the children had also increased. Neither party requested modification of the court's prior order with respect to educational or medical expenses.

{¶ 5} Pursuant to a hearing, the trial court issued a judgment entry on June 26, 2002 that granted Cynthia's motion to modify child support, and ordered Jeffrey to pay $3,906.24 per month, constituting a downward deviation amount of $3,833.00 from the worksheet guideline calculated child support amount of $7,739.24. The court concluded, based upon a review of Jeffrey's adjusted gross income figures from 1995 to 2001 that his income for the purpose of child support was $539,667.36, and that Cynthia's income for the same purpose was $57,249.75. The court further found that Cynthia was not employed, but that because there was no evidence that she was unable to be employed, she would be imputed an income of $11,400.00, which reflected minimum wage earnings. The court noted that the $11,400.00 figure would be counted in addition to Cynthia's adjusted gross income figures.

{¶ 6} Cynthia appealed to this Court from the June 26, 2002 judgment entry. We reversed the judgment of the trial court and remanded the case to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with our decision.Ohlemacher v. Ohlemacher, 9th Dist. No. 02CA008108, 2003-Ohio-368, at ¶ 1 ("Ohlemacher I"). We concluded that the trial court failed to comply with the statutory requirements because it applied the parties' respective adjusted gross income figures rather than their gross incomes as required by the statute, and that the trial court failed to address the issue of healthcare expenses in its judgment. Id. at ¶ 8. We ordered the trial court to include all income to the parties in its calculation of child support and to address the healthcare responsibilities. Due to this determination, we did not address the merits of Jeffrey's challenges to the court's deviation from the worksheet amount and refusal to grant attorney's fees to Jeffrey. Id. at ¶ 19.

{¶ 7} On March 23, 2003, the trial court issued an amended child support order. In the order, the court employed the parties' total income to conclude that Jeffrey's income for purposes of child support was $689,365.00 and Cynthia's income, based on all income and imputed income, was $57,749.75. The court also ordered Jeffrey to maintain healthcare insurance coverage for the children; pay the first $100.00 in healthcare costs not covered by insurance; and to pay 90% of remaining uninsured expenses with the remaining 10% to be covered by Cynthia.

{¶ 8} Cynthia also filed a notice of appeal to this Court from this amended order. This Court once again reversed and remanded the case to the trial court. Ohlemacher v. Ohlemacher, 9th Dist. No. 03CA008252, 2003-Ohio-6582 ("Ohlemacher II"). We concluded that the trial court's decision to deviate from the original support order constituted reversible error, because the court failed to comply with the requirements set forth in R.C. 3119.22. Id. at ¶ 7. Specifically, we noted that the trial court failed to state in its order Jeffrey's support obligation, establish his specific monthly payment amount, and state findings of fact supporting the deviation from his obligation pursuant to R.C. 3119.22. Id.

{¶ 9} On remand, the trial court issued a judgment entry that granted Cynthia's motion for modification of child support. The court found that Cynthia and Jeffrey's combined income was in excess of $150,000.0, and stated a guideline calculated child support of $116,302.55 per year, or $9,691.88 per month. However, the court noted, "it would be unjust and inappropriate and would not be in the best interest of the children, [Jeffrey], and [Cynthia] to order the guideline calculated child support amount[.]" Accordingly, the court ordered Jeffrey to pay $3,906.24 per month, constituting a deviation of $5,785.64. The court set forth findings of fact in support of the deviation, stating that the deviation was based on the consideration of the factors set forth in R.C.3113.215(B)(3). As it did in its June 26, 2002 order, the court noted that Jeffrey had established a trust fund, IRA's, generation skipping business trust, in-kind contributions for activities and educational vacations, had paid Michael for the lease of his car, and covered costs of various activities. The court also took into consideration that Jeffrey was responsible for healthcare expenses of the children.

{¶ 10} Additionally, the court denied Cynthia's motion for attorney's fees in this judgment entry, and stated that each party was responsible for their respective fees. The court made the order retroactive to the date of filing of the motion for modification, and stated that all prior orders regarding the shared parenting plan and support obligations, with the exception of the newly ordered support amount, would remain in full force and effect. This appeal followed.

{¶ 11} Cynthia timely appealed, asserting four assignments of error for review. We rearrange the order of the assignments of error to facilitate review.

II.
A.
First Assignment of Error
"The trial court erred in failing to comply with Ohio Revised Code Section 3113.215 in making its child support guidelines worksheet calculation [.]"

{¶ 12}

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2005 Ohio 474, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ohlemacher-v-ohlemacher-unpublished-decision-2-9-2005-ohioctapp-2005.