State Ex Rel. Dix v. Plank

780 P.2d 171, 14 Kan. App. 2d 12, 1989 Kan. App. LEXIS 692
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kansas
DecidedOctober 6, 1989
Docket63,507
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 780 P.2d 171 (State Ex Rel. Dix v. Plank) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State Ex Rel. Dix v. Plank, 780 P.2d 171, 14 Kan. App. 2d 12, 1989 Kan. App. LEXIS 692 (kanctapp 1989).

Opinion

Brazil, J.:

Todd Plank appeals the district court’s order to modify his child support payments. The order, which raised the monthly payments from $150 to $408, is based upon Administrative Order 59 (1988 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 54), commonly known as the Kansas Child Support Guidelines adopted in compliance with K.S.A. 20-165. We affirm.

On April 10,1984, Todd Plank acknowledged and stipulated in a settlement agreement that he is the father of T.S.D., a minor child born to Donna Dix on December 20, 1981. Plank also agreed to pay $150 per month child support and to provide T.S.D.’s medical health insurance either under Plank’s railroad employment plan or other group employment insurance should he leave the railroad. Plank did not request visitation privileges.

On December 13, 1988, Dix filed a motion to review child support based on Administrative Order 59. After completing Worksheet A from the guidelines, Dix requested the monthly support payment be increased to $508.

*13 Plank acknowledged there should be an increase in support, but testified the amount of increase should be $55.74 for a total payment of $205.74. Plank had also used Worksheet A to determine this amount. He testified that he had calculated the cost of supporting his present wife and child of that marriage using the guideline schedules and had reduced his gross income by that amount.

The court, after consideration of the evidence, found that supplemental considerations should be applied and increased the sum of support from $150 to $408.

1. Material change in circumstances.

Plank argues that the court erroneously considered Administrative Order 59 to be a material change in circumstances which warranted modification of child support. Plank further contends that K.S.A. 1988 Supp. 60-1610(a)(l) requires that a showing of material change be filed in child support cases. He also argues that this statutory requirement was incorporated into Administrative Order 59 and that, in order to justify a modification of an existing order, the movant must demonstrate a material change in circumstances. Plank contends no change was demonstrated.

Plank’s reliance upon the language of K.S.A. 1988 Supp. 60-1610 is misplaced. That statute applies to child support orders in divorce proceedings. Plank and Dix were never married. This action, which resulted in the 1984 settlement agreement, was filed pursuant to Chapter 38 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated. K.S.A. 1988 Supp. 38-1121 provides:

“(a) The judgment or order of the court determining the existence or nonexistence of the parent and child relationship is determinative for all purposes.
“(c) Upon adjudging that a party is the parent of a minor child, the court shall make provision for support arid education of the child including the necessary medical expenses incident to the birth of the child. The court may order the support and education expenses to be paid by either or both parents for the minor child. . . . The court may at any time during the minority of the child prospectively modify or change the order of support as required by the best interest of the child. The court shall enter such orders regarding custody and visitation as the court considers to be in the best interest of the child.
“(e) In determining the amount to be paid by a parent for support of the child and the period during which the duty of support is owed, a court enforcing the obligation of support shall consider all relevant facts including, but not limited to, the following:
(1) The needs of the child.
*14 (2) The standards of living and circumstances of the parents.
(3) The relative financial means of the parents.
(4) The earning ability of the parents.
(5) The need and capacity of the child for education.
(6) The age of the child.
(7) The financial resources and the earning ability of the child.
(8) The responsibility of the parents for the support of others.
(9) The value of services contributed by the custodial parent.”

On April 10, 1984, Plank stipulated that he was the father of T.S.D. All matters relating to support for the child, therefore, come under the Kansas Parentage Act, K.S.A. 38-1110 et seq., and the continuing jurisdiction of the district court.

The language of K.S.A. 1988 Supp. 38-1121(c) clearly states the court may make modifications in the support order at any time based on the best interest of the child. This standard for modification is different than the material change in circumstances standard of K.S.A. 1988.Supp. 60-1610(a)(l). In addition, K.S.A. 1988 Supp. 38-1121(e) lists relevant factors to be considered in awarding support. These specifically include the age of the child and the earning ability of the parents, considerations not listed in K.S.A. 1988 Supp. 60-1610(a)(l).

In any event, Plank is precluded from raising the issue of material change in circumstances on appeal. It is well settled that an issue not objected to at trial will not be heard on appeal. Kansas Dept. of Revenue v. Coca Cola Co., 240 Kan. 548, 552, 731 P.2d 273 (1987). No reference to a timely objection on the issue of material change in circumstances can be found in the record. While counsel for Plank and the court disagreed on the relevancy of some questions, counsel did not object to the court’s ruling on that issue or any other. As noted above, Plank acknowledged there should be an increase in support but testified that it should be raised to only $205.74, using his Worksheet A to determine this amount.

2. Abuse of discretion.

Plank contends the trial court erred: (a) in finding a material change in circumstances because his income had not increased; (b) in finding that, based on the evidence, Administrative Order 59 “controls” the matter; and (c) in misreading the guidelines when it ruled that the guidelines make no provision for the support of others.

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Bluebook (online)
780 P.2d 171, 14 Kan. App. 2d 12, 1989 Kan. App. LEXIS 692, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-dix-v-plank-kanctapp-1989.