Parker v. Parker

248 S.W.3d 523, 97 Ark. App. 298, 2007 Ark. App. LEXIS 58
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arkansas
DecidedJanuary 31, 2007
DocketCA 06-111
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 248 S.W.3d 523 (Parker v. Parker) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Parker v. Parker, 248 S.W.3d 523, 97 Ark. App. 298, 2007 Ark. App. LEXIS 58 (Ark. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinions

D. Vaught, Larry D.Judge.

Appellant Louanne Parker appeals from an order modifying the amount of child support and alimony to be paid by her former husband, appellee John Matthew (Matt) Parker. We affirm.

In a 1999 divorce decree, Louanne was awarded custody of the parties’ three children, and Matt was ordered to pay $2026 per month child support and $1600 per month alimony. During the proceedings, Louanne asked that she be allowed to relocate with the children to Little Rock, but her request was denied. Louanne continued to reside in the marital home, and, under the terms of the decree, the house was to be sold and the proceeds to be divided equally upon her vacating it. The remaining assets were divided equally for the most part, although a business venture that Matt had entered into with his brothers, Jonesboro Investment Company, LLC, was declared to be his non-marital property.

Louanne appealed from the decree, challenging the denial of her request to relocate, the division of marital property, and the calculation of Matt’s income for support purposes. In Parker v. Parker, 75 Ark. App. 90, 55 S.W.3d 773 (2001) (Parker I), we affirmed the property division and support awards but reversed the prohibition on her relocation and declared that she was free to move to Little Rock.

Soon after Parker I was handed down, Louanne petitioned the trial court for permission to move to Texas rather than Little Rock. Matt initially opposed the petition, but the matter was settled, with Louanne and the couple’s daughters relocating to Texas and the couple’s son remaining in Jonesboro with Matt. The parties agreed that neither of them would seek modification of child support or alimony before February 28, 2003. Additionally, Matt agreed to pay Louanne $107,500 for her interest in the marital home.

Upon moving to Texas in 2002, Louanne purchased a home for $185,000. Even though she had recently obtained a postgraduate degree as a specialist in education from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, she planned to pursue a PhD from the University of North Texas. When she learned that there had been changes in the department at North Texas and that the particular degree .she sought was no longer being offered, she transferred after one semester to Texas Women’s University to pursue her PhD in psychology, with a minor in pediatric neuropsychology. She hoped to complete this degree by 2006. While in school, she obtained her Texas license as a specialist in school psychology. She did freelance work in 2003 and 2004, for which she received a small income.

On May 21, 2004, Matt filed a motion to modify his child-support and alimony payments. He asserted, as changed circumstances, that the couple’s oldest daughter would graduate from high school on May 29, 2004, resulting in each party having custody of one minor child; that Louanne had completed her education specialist degree and had received assets in the post-decree division of marital property; and that Louanne, despite having obtained her degree, “continues to be enrolled in postgraduate education as a lifestyle choice.” Louanne opposed the motion and denied that any downward adjustments in child support or alimony were warranted.

Hearings were held in September and October 2004 to determine both parties’ incomes for child-support purposes and Louanne’s continuing need for alimony. Particularly at issue was whether Matt’s income should include a one-time, $200,000 distribution that he received from Jonesboro Investment Company, LLC, in 2004. In addition, there was evidence that, in September 2004, Louanne obtained two contracts as a licensed specialist in school psychology, which would pay her a total of $52,000 per year.

After the hearings, the trial court issued letter opinions with the following relevant rulings: 1) a change of circumstances warranted modification of child support and alimony; 2) Louanne’s net income, as per her new contracts, was $809.73 per week; 3) Matt’s net income was $2539.77 per week; 4) based on the parties’ incomes and the chart amounts attributable to each of them having custody of one minor child, Matt’s net child-support obligation was modified to $244.96 per week; 5) the $200,000 distribution to Matt from the LLC would not be included in calculating Matt’s income; 6) even if the $200,000 were included, a deviation from the chart attributable to that amount was justified; 7) Louanne would receive alimony at the reduced rate of $1000 per month from January 1, 2005, through December 31, 2006, when it would cease entirely. These rulings were incorporated into an order entered July 11, 2005, from which Louanne filed a timely notice of appeal. She now argues that the trial court erred in calculating hers and Matt’s incomes for purposes of child support and that the trial court erred in reducing the amount of alimony she was to receive.

Calculation of Income for Child-Support Purposes

We review traditional cases of equity, such as domestic-relations proceedings, de novo. Hurtt v. Hurtt, 93 Ark. App. 37, 216 S.W.3d 604 (2005). It is the ultimate task of the trial judge to determine the expendable income of a child-support payor. Cole v. Cole, 89 Ark. App. 134, 201 S.W.3d 21 (2005). As a rule, when the amount of child support is at issue, we will not reverse the trial judge absent an abuse of discretion. Id.

Under this heading, Louanne makes several sub-arguments, which we will address individually. We first consider her claim that the trial court’s temporary child-support order entered in August 2004 incorrectly established the parties’ incomes. At the hearing that preceded that order, the trial judge received evidence so that child support could be temporarily adjusted pending completion of trial. At the close of the hearing, the judge declared Matt’s yearly income to be $163,448.50, based on an exhibit prepared by Louanne’s expert witness, and declared Louanne’s yearly income to be $19,423, based on her adjusted gross income from her 2003 tax return. Louanne now states that the trial court erred in “calculating appellant’s obligation for the temporary order on her adjusted gross income as opposed to appellee’s after-tax income.”

Louanne’s assertion on this point is made without a developed argument and without a convincing explanation as to how or why a legal error occurred. It is the appellant’s burden to demonstrate reversible error. See Arrow Int’l, Inc. v. Sparks, 81 Ark. App. 42, 98 S.W.3d 48 (2003). Moreover, no authority, other than a general citation to Administrative Order No. 10, is cited. Points asserted without citation to authority or convincing argument should not be considered. West v. West, 364 Ark. 73, 216 S.W.3d 557 (2005). In any event, Matt’s income at the temporary hearing was calculated by reference to an exhibit offered by Louanne, and Louanne’s income was taken from her 2003 tax return, which she agreed could be used for that purpose. An appellant may not complain on appeal that the trial court erred if she induced, consented to, or acquiesced in the trial court’s position. Keathley v. Keathley, 76 Ark. App.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Estate of Mrs. George Howard, Jr. (Vivian) v. Dr. John Harris
2024 Ark. App. 420 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2024)
Farm Credit Midsouth, PCA v. Bollinger
548 S.W.3d 164 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2018)
Fayetteville Express Pipeline, LLC v. Arkansas Public Service Commission
2017 Ark. App. 557 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2017)
Pelts v. Pelts
2016 Ark. App. 75 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2016)
Nucor Steel-Arkansas v. Arkansas Pollution Control & Ecology Commission
2015 Ark. App. 703 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2015)
Beggs v. Beggs
2015 Ark. App. 86 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2015)
Butler v. Butler
2014 Ark. App. 507 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2014)
Ryburn v. Ryburn
2014 Ark. App. 108 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2014)
Spears v. Spears
2013 Ark. App. 535 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2013)
Gilliam v. Gilliam
374 S.W.3d 108 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2010)
Tri-Eagle Enterprises v. Regions Bank
373 S.W.3d 399 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2010)
Boudreaux v. Boudreaux
373 S.W.3d 329 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2009)
Carder Buick-Olds Co. v. Wooten
308 S.W.3d 156 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2009)
Grays v. Arkansas Office of Child Support Enforcement
289 S.W.3d 12 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 2008)
Bettis v. Bettis
267 S.W.3d 646 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2007)
Parker v. Parker
248 S.W.3d 523 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2007)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
248 S.W.3d 523, 97 Ark. App. 298, 2007 Ark. App. LEXIS 58, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/parker-v-parker-arkctapp-2007.