Krause v. Krause
Krause v. Krause
Opinion of the Court
Lynn Krause, the mother, appeals a trial court order denying her motion to set aside a report and recommendation of the general master. The trial court, which adopted the report and recommendation, modified the obligation of Randall Krause, the father, to pay child support and found that the father was not responsible for any portion of the youngest child’s orthodontic expenses. We conclude that the trial court erred in adopting the report and recommendation of the general master, and we therefore reverse.
The father filed a petition to modify child support, requesting that his child support obligation be reduced to reflect the emancipation of two of the parties’ three children.
This court’s recent decision in Florida, Department of Revenue ex rel. Wilson v. Wilson, 782 So.2d 952 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001), is on point and requires reversal here.
The mother also correctly contends that the general master erred in finding that the father was not responsible for any portion of their youngest child’s orthodontic expenses. The general master found that the father was not responsible for this expense, because the mother did not consult him regarding the orthodontic treatment and he did not consent to such treatment. We conclude that this finding is also erroneous on the face of the record, and consequently, the trial court improperly adopted the finding.
The marital settlement agreement, which was incorporated into the final judgment of dissolution of marriage, specifically provided that “the parties will equally divide all reasonable and necessary medical, dental, orthodontic, and optical expenses incurred by the children which are not covered by insurance.” There was no provision in the marital settlement agreement providing that each parent must jointly approve the above expenses. Cf. Velasquez v. Rueda, 736 So.2d 124 (Fla. 5th DCA 1999) (discussing settlement agreement which provided that each parent must jointly approve “major” medical, dental, institutional, psychiatric or other care). Therefore, the issue before the general master was the reasonableness and the necessity of the orthodontic expenses, and the mother’s failure to consult the father regarding such treatment was not a defense to his failure to pay.
Reversed and remanded with directions.
. Previously, the father had filed a modification petition when the oldest child became emancipated. He subsequently dismissed that petition when he determined that recalculated child support at that time would be higher for the two remaining minor children than the initial amount of child support for all three children.
. The trial court did not have the benefit of Florida Department of Revenue ex rel. Wilson v. Wilson, 782 So.2d 952 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001), at the time of the hearing on the mother's motion to set aside the report and recommendation of the general master.
. The mother contends that she did provide the father with notice of the orthodontic treatment and offered him the opportunity to obtain a second opinion.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.