Raymond Alexander Verheydt v. Tammi Wai-Ping Verheydt

2013 WY 25, 295 P.3d 1245, 2013 WL 791820, 2013 Wyo. LEXIS 29
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 5, 2013
DocketS-12-0153
StatusPublished
Cited by28 cases

This text of 2013 WY 25 (Raymond Alexander Verheydt v. Tammi Wai-Ping Verheydt) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Raymond Alexander Verheydt v. Tammi Wai-Ping Verheydt, 2013 WY 25, 295 P.3d 1245, 2013 WL 791820, 2013 Wyo. LEXIS 29 (Wyo. 2013).

Opinion

KITE, Chief Justice.

[T1] Tammi Wai-Ping Verheydt (Wife) and Raymond Alexander Verheydt (Husband) were divorced by decree entered February 27, 2012. Husband appeals, claiming the district court abused its discretion in imputing his monthly income and ordering him to pay child support for several months when he was living in the marital home after Wife filed for divorcee and ordering him to pay half the cost of the children's past and future activities as an upward deviation of child support. Husband also contends the district court deprived him of due process in making the above rulings without evidentiary support. We find that Husband waived his right to assert these claims on appeal and we affirm the district court's rulings.

ISSUES

[T2] Husband presents the issues for this Court's determination as follows:

1. The District Court imputed income to [Husband] without evidence supporting its findings.
2. The District Court's upward deviation in child support is not supported by evidence, and does not conform to Wyoming's statutory requirements.
8. The District Court cannot order child support and an upward deviation to that support, for time in which a parent resides with his children.
4. - The District Court deprived [Husband] of his right to due process when it entered an order having no evidentiary support.

[13] Wife asserts Husband waived any due process claim by agreeing to proceed by oral argument rather than an evidentiary hearing; conceded or at least did not dispute the facts the district court relied upon in entering its order; and is estopped from challenging the decree because he approved it. Alternatively, she maintains the district court acted within its discretion in entering the decree based upon the undisputed evidence.

[T4] We conclude the issue for our determination is whether Husband is precluded from asserting his claims on appeal because he expressly waived his right to be heard, agreed to proceed without an evidentiary hearing, did not object to the district court deciding the matters based upon the pleadings, submissions and oral arguments of *1247 counsel, and did not request the opportunity to present evidence.

FACTS

[T5] The parties were married in 1994. They had three children during the marriage: AMV, born in 1999, and MOV and MSV, twins, born in 2001. Wife filed for divorcee in January of 2011. She requested the district court award the parties joint legal custody of the children and sought primary physical eustody. At the time she filed her complaint for divorce, Wife also filed motions for temporary custody of the children and temporary possession of the marital home. In the motion, she stated the parties had not formally separated but she had asked Husband to leave the marital residence.

[16] After a hearing on the motions, the district court on May 4, 2011, entered an order in which it found that both parties were very involved with the children and were entitled to remain in the marital home "because ejecting either from the premises would work a disservice to the minor children." The district court awarded the parties joint legal custody and Wife primary care, ordered the parties to exercise visitation as they had been and ordered that neither party be required to leave the residence. In July of 2011, pursuant to a second motion filed by Wife, the district court entered an order requiring Husband to move out of the home and giving Wife temporary custody of the children during the divorcee proceedings.

[17] In August of 2011, the parties participated in mediation and reached a settlement agreement concerning the division of their property. They expressly reserved for later resolution the issues of child custody, visitation and support. Subsequently, the parties entered into a marital settlement, child custody, visitation, and child support agreement. Pertaining to the issues on appeal, the parties agreed that Husband was obligated to pay Wife $1,000 per month for child support based upon an imputed net income for Husband of $5,600 per month and Wife's net income of $6,400. They agreed that Husband had paid no child support in the fourteen months since Wife filed for divorece. They also agreed Husband would pay $7,000 in back child support for the seven month period after he moved out of the marital home in August of 2011 through the divorcee trial scheduled in February of 2012. The parties asked the district court to determine what amount in back child support Husband should pay for the seven months in which he continued to live in the marital home after Wife filed for divorce. The parties also agreed the children should continue with ice skating and dance activities in which they had participated since they were young and Husband had not contributed financially to the costs of those activities since the divoree was filed. They agreed the district court should determine how the future costs of the activities should be apportioned between them and what amount, if any, Husband should have to pay to Wife for the children's past activity costs.

[48] The agreement also contained the following provisions:

6.1 Waiver of Hearing. In the event Wife seeks a divorce, Husband expressly consents to an immediate hearing upon the Wife's Complaint for divorcee without notice to the Husband of the time and place of said hearing, hereby waiving his right to be heard in the defense of the matters alleged in the Complaint, or to be present and cross-examine witnesses of the Wife, and further agrees to the entry of judgment herein against him if the Court determines the Wife to be entitled to a divorce. This waiver is contingent upon the Court approving and adopting the terms of this Agreement.
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6.3 Understanding of the Parties The parties, with the advice of their counsel, have ascertained and weighed all facts and cireumstances likely to influence their judgment, and they clearly understand and assent to all the provisions hereof. It is understood and agreed between the parties that the provisions of this Agreement shall constitute a full and final settlement of all issues concerning division of property, property rights, financial obligations, alimony, support, attorney's fees and court costs, and any and all claims of any kind *1248 whatsoever which either party may have against each other.
6.4 Fairness and Absence of Duress. This Agreement is entered into freely and voluntarily and without duress by either party or by the agents of either party against the other. Each party has had adequate time to carefully consider all the provisions of this Agreement. The parties acknowledge that they are entering into this Agreement freely and voluntarily, that they have ascertained and weighed all of the facts and cireumstances likely to influence their judgment herein, that they have sought and obtained legal advice independently of each other, that they are satisfied in every respect with the advice and representation they have received from their respective attorneys, and that they clearly understand and agree to all terms and provisions of this Agreement.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2013 WY 25, 295 P.3d 1245, 2013 WL 791820, 2013 Wyo. LEXIS 29, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/raymond-alexander-verheydt-v-tammi-wai-ping-verheydt-wyo-2013.