Souci v. Souci

284 S.W.3d 749, 2009 Mo. App. LEXIS 577, 2009 WL 1124474
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 28, 2009
DocketSD 29247
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 284 S.W.3d 749 (Souci v. Souci) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Souci v. Souci, 284 S.W.3d 749, 2009 Mo. App. LEXIS 577, 2009 WL 1124474 (Mo. Ct. App. 2009).

Opinion

ROBERT S. BARNEY, Judge.

Appellant Timón Sans Souci (“Husband”) appeals the “Amended Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage” entered by the trial court which dissolved his marriage to Respondent Sherri Sans Souci (“Wife”). Husband asserts six points of trial court error. For ease of analysis we shall address Points V and VI of Husband’s points relied on out of order.

The record reveals the parties were married in Iroquois County, Illinois, on May 21, 1988, and there were three children born of the marriage. 1 The parties had been residing in Missouri since 1995 and separated in November of 2006. Husband filed his “Petition for Dissolution of Marriage” on January 11, 2007, and Wife filed her “Cross Petition for Dissolution of Marriage” on February 9, 2007. At the time of trial, Husband was employed with Lowe’s Corporation as he had been for the previous seven years and Wife was employed at the Bank of Sullivan, where she had been employed for “two or three years.” The parties submitted a Joint Parenting Plan to the trial court and each submitted a proposed Form 14 relating to child support based on them own calculations. 2

The trial court entered its Amended Judgment on April 29, 2008. 3 In its judgment, the trial court, inter alia, divided the parties’ marital property and debts; adopted the parties’ “Joint Parenting Plan;” granted monthly maintenance to Wife in the amount of $750.00; ordered Husband to pay monthly child support in the total amount of $977.00; and ordered Husband to pay a portion of Wife’s attorney fees in the amount of $3,000.00. This appeal followed.

The standard for reviewing a judgment of dissolution is the same as in any court-tried action. Gryder v. Gryder, 129 S.W.3d 467, 470 (Mo.App.2004). The decree must be affirmed unless it is unsupported by substantial evidence, it is *753 against the weight of the evidence, or it erroneously declares or applies the law. In re Marriage of Reese, 155 S.W.3d 862, 869 (Mo.App.2005); Rule 84.13(d). 4 “We do not retry the case, rather we accept as true the evidence and reasonable inferences therefrom in a light most favorable to the prevailing party and disregard contradictory evidence.” McCollum v. McCollum, 128 S.W.3d 62, 65 (Mo.App.2003). “The trial court is free to accept or reject all, part, or none of the testimony of a witness.” Holtgrewe v. Holtgrewe, 231 S.W.3d 233, 235 (Mo.App.2007). We defer to the trial court’s determinations of credibility in making our review. In re Marriage of Colley, 984 S.W.2d 163, 166 (Mo.App.1998).

Husband’s first two points relied on are directed at the trial court’s award of child support entered against Husband in the amount of $977.00 per month. We shall address these points conjunctively. In his first point relied on, Husband asserts the trial court erred in ordering child support in the total amount of $977.00 per month because such an order violated Rule 88.01 “in that the [Fjorm 14 calculation did not account for the maintenance that Husband was ordered to pay to Wife.” In his second point relied on Husband maintains the trial court erred in the amount of child support awarded because such an award “was an abuse of discretion in that it was based upon an assessment of monthly gross income amounts of the parties that was against the weight of the evidence.”

In determining the amount of child support to award in a dissolution proceeding, the trial court must follow section 452.340, RSMo Cum.Supp.2007, 5 and Rule 88.01. Sieg v. Sieg, 255 S.W.3d 20, 23 (Mo.App.2008). In the first step in calculating child support, the trial court must use Form 14 to “determine for the record the presumptively correct child support amount.” Id.; see Rule 88.01(b). “In determining the presumed child support amount under the first step, the circuit court can either accept one of the parties’ Form 14 calculations or reject both parties’ calculations and prepare its own Form 14.” Sieg, 255 S.W.3d at 23. “In step two, the circuit court must consider whether or not to rebut the presumed correct child support amount, as found by the court, as being unjust or inappropriate after consideration of all relevant factors.” Id.

In its comments for use of Form 14, the Missouri Court Rules set out the following explanation:

Line la: Adjustment to gross income for maintenance being received
DIRECTION: Enter the monthly amount of any court order for maintenance to the extent of the amounts actually being received toward current maintenance.
A. COMMENT: If the court is establishing both child support and maintenance, the court shall first determine the appropriate amount of maintenance. This amount shall be included as an addition to the gross income (line la) of the parent receiving the maintenance and as a reduction in the gross income (line 2b) of the parent paying the maintenance.

Missouri Court Rules (2007), Directions, Comments for Use and Examples for Completion of Form No. 14, Vol. 1, p. 419.

Here, the trial court adopted Wife’s prepared Form 14 and included it in its judgment in this matter. However, the Form 14 at issue contains no notations relating *754 to the maintenance awarded to Wife such that it appears that amount was not considered in the rendering of the trial court’s determination of child support. “Line la” of the Form 14 clearly states an amount should be entered for “[c]ourt ordered maintenance being received.” Our review of the pertinent Form 14 in question reveals that this line contains no calculation. Further, “Line 2b” of Form 14 plainly states an amount should be entered for “[c]ourt ordered maintenance being paid.” Again, this line is also blank. The trial court in this case did not follow the directions set out for completion of the Form 14 in that it “did not make any provisions in its Form 14 calculation for maintenance .... ” Adams v. Adams, 108 S.W.3d 821, 829 (Mo.App.2003). “The [trial] court misapplied the law in failing to properly calculate [the applicable] Form 14” and this “case must be remanded to the trial court for it to correctly recalculate the child support amount to include the amount of maintenance to be paid according to the applicable Form 14 Comments, Directions for Use.” Id. Point I has merit.

Additionally, because the court must recompute the amount of child support we will not address the allegation of error set out in Point II. At its election the trial court will be permitted to receive additional evidence regarding either party’s income.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
284 S.W.3d 749, 2009 Mo. App. LEXIS 577, 2009 WL 1124474, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/souci-v-souci-moctapp-2009.