Tisdell v. Tisdell

1961 OK 102, 363 P.2d 277, 1961 Okla. LEXIS 375
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedApril 25, 1961
Docket38436
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 1961 OK 102 (Tisdell v. Tisdell) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Tisdell v. Tisdell, 1961 OK 102, 363 P.2d 277, 1961 Okla. LEXIS 375 (Okla. 1961).

Opinions

HALLEY, Justice.

Levon Tisdell sued Earl Tisdell for divorce in the District Court of Pontotoc-County and prayed for the custody of their-two year old daughter, Earlyn Tisdell. Defendant filed an answer and asked for the-custody of their daughter. Plaintiff was. granted a divorce and custody of her daughter, with the right of visitation by the father.

On May 9, 1955, plaintiff filed a verified! petition to modify the divorce decree, alleging that plaintiff and her parents had the-control, care and custody and support of' the daughter; that defendant had failed to. contribute to the support of the child who. now required greater expense for her welfare, and that defendant should be required; to contribute a reasonable amount for her-support and education, and that $75 per-month would be a reasonable amount for.such service.

Defendant filed his answer to the petition for modification and alleged that their-daughter had been in the home of plaintiff’s, parents, O. W. Sneed and Sadie Sneed,, practically all of her life, and requested: that whatever sum he be required to pay,, be paid to O. W. Sneed and Sadie Sneed.

February 1, 1956, the petition to modify-the decree as to child support came on for-hearing. The plaintiff appeared in persom and by her attorneys, but the defendant-failed to appear in person or by his attorneys. The court heard the evidence and? found that the minor child had, at all times, since the divorce decree was rendered, resided with the parents of plaintiff and that she and her parents had been forced to. support the child and that her care, custody and control should continue until further orders of the court, and ordered that defendant be required to pay $75 per month for support of the child, and $75 as attorney fee and $100 as expenses in prosecuting; [279]*279the action, and that child support payments be made to O. W. and Sadie Sneed, the first payment on or before February IS, 1956, and a like sum on the 15th of each succeeding month thereafter, or until further order of the court.

On February 4, 1956, defendant, by his attorney, J. E. Bullard, filed an unverified motion to modify the foregoing order of February 1, 1956. This motion of defendant to modify was set for hearing in March, 1956, but defendant failed to appear, and his motion to modify was again set for hearing on August 15, 1956, but defendant failed again to appear in person or by his .attorney, and the court entered an order ■overruling defendant’s motion to modify.

In partial compliance with the order for ■child support on December 31, 1956, defendant made his first payment of $50 and $37 in February, 1957, $35 in March, $28 in April, $37.50 in May, and on March 1, 1958, $50 was paid by Myrtle Tisdell.

On August 21, 1957, the court issued an order for citation and citation for contempt was issued and served on defendant August 22, 1957.

May 21, 1958, the matter came on for hearing. A jury was waived and after hearing the evidence, the court found that the defendant had contributed $217.50 for child support since February 15, 1956, actually $237.50 is the correct amount, but had paid nothing for attorneys’ fees, costs or ■ expenses; that he had wilfully and without excusable cause, failed, refused and neglected to comply with the order of the court. He was found guilty of indirect contempt and sentenced to a period of 90 days in the county jail. Defendant has appealed and we shall refer to the parties as plaintiff and defendant as they appeared in the trial ■ court.

Mrs. Sadie Sneed, as a witness for plaintiff, testified that her husband, O. W. Sneed, had to pay the expenses incurred at the birth of the only child born to the plaintiff and defendant and that defendant had paid nothing for the support of the child ex•cept the payments made to the District Court Clerk’s Office and that she and her husband, O. W. Sneed, had been compelled to support the child since it was born except the payments which the trial court found to have been made in the sum of $237.50, heretofore mentioned. The child was then a junior in high school.

The defendant admitted that he was served with summons when plaintiff’s motion to modify was to be heard. J. E. Bullard was his attorney when the motion was set for hearing. He did testify that he was not able to appear on February 1, 1956 and said he had gone to the doctor for a check-up the day before the hearing date. He made no claim to having complied with the order to make monthly payments for support of his child.

Defendant first contends that the trial court erred in adjudging him to be in contempt because the plaintiff in her petition to modify the divorce decree prays for $75 per month for the support and education of their child during her minority and a reasonable attorney fee; that nothing else was prayed for, and that it was error to allow her $100 as travel expense in coming from New Mexico for the hearing. This $100 item was not prayed for in the original motion of plaintiff to modify, but on August 21, 1957, we find that plaintiff prayed for this allowance when she applied for the determination of the amount of child support past due and for citation. Defendant also complains because the trial court ordered the child support money ordered paid was to be paid to O. W. Sneed and Sadie Sneed. However, we find that the defendant himself prayed that this money be paid to the Sneeds because the plaintiff would use it for her own benefit and not that of the child, if paid to plaintiff. We find no merit in this contention by defendant. The fact that the Sneeds were not parties in the action is of no importance.

The defendant appears to have overlooked Section 1277, 12 O.S.1951, as amended in 1955, wherein it is said:

“A petition or a cross-petition for a divorce, legal separation, or annulment [280]*280must state whether or not the parties have minor children of the marriage. If there are such children, the court shall make provision for guardianship, custody, support and education of the minor children, and may modify or change any order in this respect, whenever circumstances render such change proper either before or after final judgment in the action.”

In Stoner v. Weiss, 96 Okl. 285, 222 P. 547, this Court said in the first paragraph of the syllabus that:

“Under section 507, Comp.St.1921, a decree of divorce, which fails to make any provision for the support and education of a minor child of the parties, may be modified so as to provide for the support and education of such child, whenever circumstances render such change proper, and such modification may be made upon a supplemental petition in the original action.”

It is also said in Bynum v. Bynum, 184 Okl. 36, 84 P.2d 424, 425, that:

“Under the provisions of section 671, O.S.1931, 12 Okl.St.Ann. § 1277, the court retains the right at any time, upon its own motion, or on the suggestion of any one interested, to make such reasonable order as may be necessary upon either or both of the parties to a divorce action to provide for the guardianship, custody, support, and maintenance of their minor children and such orders may be changed from time to time.”

In Childers v. Childers, 202 Okl. 409, 214 P.2d 722, 726, this Court held:

“Under Sec.

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Related

Davis v. Davis
1987 OK CIV APP 41 (Court of Civil Appeals of Oklahoma, 1987)
Mills v. Mills
345 N.E.2d 915 (Massachusetts Appeals Court, 1976)
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1969 OK 181 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1969)
Clark v. Clark
1962 OK 116 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1962)
Tisdell v. Tisdell
1961 OK 102 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1961)

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Bluebook (online)
1961 OK 102, 363 P.2d 277, 1961 Okla. LEXIS 375, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tisdell-v-tisdell-okla-1961.