Olander v. McPhillips

28 Neb. Ct. App. 559, 947 N.W.2d 578
CourtNebraska Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 30, 2020
DocketA-19-545
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 28 Neb. Ct. App. 559 (Olander v. McPhillips) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Nebraska Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Olander v. McPhillips, 28 Neb. Ct. App. 559, 947 N.W.2d 578 (Neb. Ct. App. 2020).

Opinion

Nebraska Supreme Court Online Library www.nebraska.gov/apps-courts-epub/ 07/07/2020 09:07 AM CDT

- 559 - Nebraska Court of Appeals Advance Sheets 28 Nebraska Appellate Reports OLANDER v. McPHILLIPS Cite as 28 Neb. App. 559

Shaun P. Olander, appellee, v. Brandy A. McPhillips, appellant. ___ N.W.2d ___

Filed June 30, 2020. No. A-19-545.

1. Visitation: Appeal and Error. Parenting time determinations are mat- ters initially entrusted to the discretion of the trial court, and although reviewed de novo on the record, the trial court’s determination will nor- mally be affirmed absent an abuse of discretion. 2. Judgments: Words and Phrases. An abuse of discretion occurs when a trial court bases its decision upon reasons that are untenable or unrea- sonable or if its action is clearly against justice or conscience, reason, and evidence. 3. Visitation. The best interests of the children are the primary and para- mount considerations in determining and modifying parenting time. 4. ____. The right of parenting time is subject to continual review by the court, and a party may seek modification of a parenting time order on the grounds that there has been a material change in circumstances. 5. Modification of Decree: Words and Phrases. In the context of marital dissolutions, a material change in circumstances means the occurrence of something which, had it been known to the dissolution court at the time of the initial decree, would have persuaded the court to decree differently. 6. Trial: Records: Appeal and Error. Where no record of an evidentiary hearing is made, the orderly administration of justice requires that the order be vacated and the matter remanded for a new evidentiary hearing on the record. 7. Modification of Decree. In order to modify a parenting plan, there must be a material change in circumstances that affects the best interests of the child. - 560 - Nebraska Court of Appeals Advance Sheets 28 Nebraska Appellate Reports OLANDER v. McPHILLIPS Cite as 28 Neb. App. 559

Appeal from the District Court for Douglas County: Duane C. Dougherty, Judge. Affirmed in part, and in part reversed and remanded for further proceedings. John F. Eker III, for appellant. Justin A. Roberts, of Lustgarten & Roberts, P.C., L.L.O., for appellee. Moore, Chief Judge, and Riedmann and Welch, Judges. Riedmann, Judge. INTRODUCTION Brandy A. McPhillips appeals the order of the district court for Douglas County which granted Shaun P. Olander’s com- plaint to modify a decree of paternity and parenting plan and denied her motion to vacate the modification order. We con- clude that the district court’s failure to hold an evidentiary hearing on the record on the issue of child support requires that we reverse, and remand for further proceedings on that issue, and we reverse the revised transportation provision and remand the cause with instructions to vacate and reinstate the prior transportation provision. As to the remaining issues, we affirm. BACKGROUND Olander filed a complaint for paternity, a copy of which is not included in our record. It appears that trial was set for December 3, 2013; however, prior to trial, the parties reached an agreement that was read into the record. Our bill of excep- tions does not contain a transcription of that December 3 hearing. On January 7, 2014, McPhillips filed a motion for clarification or to alter or amend the decree. In response, Olander filed a motion to enter a decree of paternity which had been prepared by his attorney, alleging that McPhillips refused to approve the agreed-upon decree. Following a hearing on January 15, a transcription of which is also not included in our record, the court entered an order requiring certain changes - 561 - Nebraska Court of Appeals Advance Sheets 28 Nebraska Appellate Reports OLANDER v. McPHILLIPS Cite as 28 Neb. App. 559

to the decree and clarifying and amending other portions. Specifically, the court ordered Olander to include the follow- ing language in the decree of paternity: “It is further ordered that beginning Saturday, January 25, 2014, and every fourth Saturday thereafter, [Olander’s] mother shall have a superior right of first refusal versus [McPhillips] during times in which [Olander] is at his employment.” A decree of paternity was entered the same day in February 2014, with approval signa- tures from both McPhillips and Olander. The decree incorpo- rated the parties’ agreed-upon parenting plan. We will refer to the court’s decree of paternity and the February 2014 order collectively as the “Paternity Decree.” The Paternity Decree established that the parties were to have joint physical and legal custody of the parties’ minor child, Macklin Olander, and required Olander to pay $515 per month in child support to McPhillips, among other provi- sions. In March 2014, the district court issued a nunc pro tunc order, stating that the parenting plan attached to the Paternity Decree was an earlier draft, and not the final version agreed to by the parties. The nunc pro tunc order attached a parent- ing plan (Parenting Plan) that both parties agreed was the true agreement. The Parenting Plan established a 2-week parenting time schedule. On “Week 1,” Olander had parenting time Tuesday at 8 p.m. until Thursday at 7 a.m., and then Friday at 7 p.m. until Saturday at 7 a.m. On “Week 2,” Olander had parent- ing time from Wednesday at 7 a.m. until Thursday at 7 a.m., and from Friday evening until Sunday evening. The Parenting Plan also required Olander to provide the transportation during parenting time exchanges, except for on the weekends, when McPhillips was to pick up Macklin at the beginning of her parenting time. In January 2018, Olander filed a complaint to modify the Paternity Decree and the Parenting Plan, stating that a mate- rial change in circumstances had occurred since the entry of the Paternity Decree and the Parenting Plan. Specifically, - 562 - Nebraska Court of Appeals Advance Sheets 28 Nebraska Appellate Reports OLANDER v. McPHILLIPS Cite as 28 Neb. App. 559

Olander alleged that Macklin was in need of health insur- ance, and it was in his best interests that one of the parties be ordered to maintain health insurance for him. Additionally, Olander asserted that “[i]t is in the best interests of [Macklin] to change the parenting time schedule to provide [Olander] with more time with [Macklin].” Olander further alleged that certain terms of the Parenting Plan were no longer relevant, necessary, or workable and that the financial circumstances of the parties had changed to the extent it was necessary to modify Olander’s child support obligation. McPhillips filed a counterclaim seeking to modify the Paternity Decree and the Parenting Plan as well. She requested the court change the Parenting Plan to provide her with more parenting time, provide her with more vacation time with Macklin, and remove Olander’s mother’s right of first refusal one Saturday a month. The court held a trial on both parties’ complaints to modify in October 2018. Before trial, the parties reached several agreements regard- ing their modification requests. Those agreements were read into the record at trial, and consisted of the following: Olander agreed to provide health insurance for Macklin; the parties agreed to use Olander’s 2017 tax return for purposes of determining his monthly income; they agreed to divide daycare expenses pursuant to the percentages determined by the child support calculator; they agreed to divide medical and other necessary expenses not covered by insurance; they agreed that each parent would get 2 weeks of vacation time with Macklin per year and, further, that Olander could not displace more than 4 days from McPhillips’ parenting time; and they agreed that neither party would enroll Macklin in extracurricular activities that infringed on the other parent’s parenting time.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
28 Neb. Ct. App. 559, 947 N.W.2d 578, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/olander-v-mcphillips-nebctapp-2020.