Rennie v. Rennie

718 So. 2d 1091, 1998 WL 409919
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedJuly 23, 1998
Docket97-CA-00100-SCT
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 718 So. 2d 1091 (Rennie v. Rennie) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rennie v. Rennie, 718 So. 2d 1091, 1998 WL 409919 (Mich. 1998).

Opinion

718 So.2d 1091 (1998)

Frederick RENNIE
v.
Barbara E. RENNIE.

No. 97-CA-00100-SCT.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

July 23, 1998.

W. Eugene Henry, Biloxi, for Appellant.

Patricia C. Champagne, Gulfport, for Appellee.

Before PITTMAN, P.J., and McRAE and MILLS, JJ.

MILLS, Justice, for the Court:

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

¶ 1. On December 20, 1996, Chancellor Jason Floyd granted Barbara Rennie's petition for divorce. He ordered Frederick Rennie to pay $446.00 per month for support of the Rennies' only child, Heather. He also awarded Barbara Rennie a 32% interest in the retirement income that Frederick Rennie received from the United States Government *1092 for his service in the United States Air Force. Aggrieved, Frederick Rennie appeals assigning the following issues as error:

I. WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN FINDING THAT HEATHER RENNIE WAS NOT EMANCIPATED BY LAW AT THE TIME OF THE HEARING.

II. WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED BY NOT ENFORCING THE PROPERTY SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT THE PARTIES HAD DRAWN UP IN CONTEMPLATION OF FILING FOR DIVORCE.

III. WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN AWARDING BARBARA RENNIE A PORTION OF FREDERICK RENNIE'S RETIREMENT INCOME FROM THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE.

STATEMENT OF THE FACTS

¶ 2. Frederick and Barbara Rennie were married on March 3, 1972. In 1977, Barbara gave birth to the Rennies' only child, Heather. Frederick served in the United States Air Force from April 1965 until May 1987. From the time they were married until 1984 Barbara traveled with Frederick to different assignments and they lived as man and wife. In 1984 the couple resided in their own home in Long Beach, when Frederick was informed that he must do a tour of duty overseas and that he could either go to Europe or the Pacific area. Frederick chose Europe and was assigned to Germany. Barbara did not want to move to Germany and neither Frederick nor Barbara wanted to pull Heather out of the Long Beach school system. The couple decided that Barbara would stay in Long Beach with Heather. Frederick requested that he be reassigned to Keesler Air Force Base near Long Beach after his tour in Germany. While in Germany, Frederick would return four times a year for two to three days at a time to visit Barbara and Heather. Additionally, Barbara and Heather went to Europe twice to see Frederick. On one trip they visited Scotland, where Frederick had family, and on another occasion they visited Frederick in Germany. Barbara and Frederick did not engage in sexual relations on any of these visits.

¶ 3. Frederick's tour in Germany ended in 1986 and he was transferred to Whitman Air Force Base in Missouri. Frederick testified that he asked Barbara to join him in Missouri and she refused. At this point he informed her that if she did not move to Missouri with him, then the marriage was over. Barbara testified that Frederick was contemplating retiring in a year and that she did not want to move to Missouri for one year. Instead, Barbara stated that she preferred to stay in Long Beach and wanted Frederick to move back to Long Beach with them when he retired from the Air Force.

¶ 4. Once Frederick moved to Missouri the marriage began to rapidly deteriorate. Shortly after the move Frederick wrote to Barbara suggesting divorce. Though Frederick still periodically returned to Long Beach to visit Heather, he slept on the couch or in Heather's bed on these trips and she slept with her mother. Heather also regularly visited her father in Missouri. She returned from one of her visits to Missouri to inform Barbara that Frederick was living with another woman. Frederick testified that he did not begin cohabitating with the other woman until 1991, long after the Rennies had decided to divorce. Further, Frederick pointed out that a property settlement agreement which Barbara sent him provided that each party could carry on and conduct his or her private life as if he or she were unmarried. Frederick began paying $500 a month in child support in 1992. On January 2, 1996, Heather gave birth to an illegitimate child, Shane Cobern. Heather's boyfriend, Guy Cobern, affectionately known as Boogie, is Shane's father. In April 1996, Heather moved out of her mother's home and into an apartment with Boogie. Following Heather's move, Frederick reduced his child support payments to $250 per month. At this time, Boogie was working full time, and Heather was working part-time. Heather testified that during this absence from her mother's home, her mother provided some assistance by purchasing some items for Heather and Shane. After only three months on their own, Heather lost her job and she, Boogie, *1093 and Shane moved in with Barbara. In August 1996, Frederick stopped paying child support altogether. In September 1996, Heather and Boogie broke up and Boogie moved out. Heather and Shane still reside with Barbara. Heather testified that she has gotten her GED and is seeking a Pell Grant to attend college.

¶ 5. Frederick testified that after taxes, he brings home about $3500 per month. He stated that he draws $1650 each month from his military retirement pay and that he is currently employed as a systems analyst with CSDI, making $2,633 per month. Barbara testified that she is employed at the Grand Casino in Gulfport and that she has a gross income of $900 per month.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 6. When reviewing a chancellor's decision this Court will accept the chancellor's finding of fact as long as the evidence in the record reasonably supports those findings. Perkins v. Thompson, 609 So.2d 390, 393 (Miss.1992). In other words, we will not disturb the findings of a chancellor unless those findings are clearly erroneous or an erroneous legal standard was applied. Hill v. Southeastern Floor Covering Co., 596 So.2d 874, 877 (Miss.1992). Where the factual findings of the chancellor are supported by substantial credible evidence, they are insulated from disturbance on appellate review. Jones v. Jones, 532 So.2d 574, 581 (Miss. 1988) (citing Norris v. Norris, 498 So.2d 809, 814 (Miss.1986); Carr v. Carr, 480 So.2d 1120, 1122 (Miss.1985)).

DISCUSSION

I. WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN FINDING THAT HEATHER RENNIE WAS NOT EMANCIPATED BY LAW AT THE TIME OF THE HEARING.

¶ 7. The chancellor ordered Frederick to pay $446 per month in child support for Heather until she was self-sufficient or reached the age of 21. Frederick asserts that the chancellor erred in awarding child support because Heather is emancipated. Frederick advances that Heather is emancipated because she is no longer in school, she has a child with Boogie, she has lived with Boogie as man and wife, and she has held several part-time jobs averaging between twenty to thirty-five hours per week. Further, Frederick argues that Boogie's support of Heather and their child for a period of time, along with their discussion of marriage, and the fact that they signed a six month lease together all lend credence to his assertion that Heather is emancipated.

¶ 8. Barbara asserts that Heather has never been emancipated. The Mississippi legislature outlined when emancipation occurs in Mississippi Code Annotated § 93-5-23, stating:

The duty of support of a child terminates upon the emancipation of the child.
The court may determine that emancipation has occurred and no other support obligation exists when that child:
(a) Attains the age of twenty-one years, or
(b) Marries, or

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
718 So. 2d 1091, 1998 WL 409919, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rennie-v-rennie-miss-1998.