Calvaruso v. Calvaruso, Unpublished Decision (9-17-2003)
Calvaruso v. Calvaruso, Unpublished Decision (9-17-2003)
Opinion of the Court
{¶ 3} On August 7, 2000, the marriage was dissolved. Appellant was designated the residential parent of both minor children. Appellant and appellee were each ordered to pay 50% of the out of pocket health care expenses for the children.
{¶ 4} On October 24, 2001, appellee filed a motion for reallocation of parental rights and responsibilities and a modification of child support. Initially, appellant declined to seek child support. However, on October 25, 2001, appellant filed a motion for child support for both children. The trial court denied appellee's motion for reallocation of parental rights in an entry journalized on July 29, 2002, and set a hearing date of September 5, 2002, for appellee's motion for modification of child support.
{¶ 5} The trial court held a hearing on the issue of child support on September 5, 2002. The magistrate's decision was issued on September 18, 2002. The decision granted appellee's request for a deviation and ordered appellee to pay child support in the amount of $100 per month. Appellant was ordered to maintain health insurance for the children. In addition, the magistrate's decision ordered appellant to pay the first $100 of out of pocket health care expenses for each child, then 65% thereafter. Appellee was ordered to pay 35% of out of pocket health care expenses for each child after the first $100.
{¶ 6} On September 25, 2002, appellant filed timely objections to the magistrate's decision. On October 3, 2002, appellee filed a motion to dismiss objections. Appellant filed a supplemental brief on October 23, 2002. Appellee filed a responsive brief on November 1, 2002. On December 16, 2002, the trial court denied appellant's objections and adopted the magistrate's decision as the order of the court.
{¶ 7} Appellant timely appealed, setting forth five assignments of error for review. The assignments of error have been rearranged to facilitate review.
{¶ 8} In appellant's first and third assignments of error, he argues that the trial court erred in deviating from the child support guidelines. This Court agrees.
{¶ 9} A trial court possesses considerable discretion in decisions regarding child support obligations, and such decisions will be reversed only upon finding an abuse of discretion. Pauly v. Pauly (1997),
"[A] trial court may deviate from the amount of child support prescribed by use of the basic child support order and worksheet if (1) it finds that the amount determined under the schedule is unjust or inappropriate; (2) it finds that the child support amount calculated under the child support schedule would not be in the best interest of the child; and (3) it states its findings of fact that support its determination. [R.C.
{¶ 10} The statutory criteria a trial court may consider in determining whether to deviate from a child support schedule are:
"(A) Special and unusual needs of the children;
"(B) Extraordinary obligations for minor children or obligations for handicapped children who are not stepchildren and who are not offspring from the marriage or relationship that is the basis of the immediate child support determination;
"(C) Other court-ordered payments;
"(D) Extended parenting time or extraordinary costs associated with parenting time, provided that [R.C.
"(E) The obligor obtaining additional employment after a child support order is issued in order to support a second family;
"(F) The financial resources and the earning ability of the child;
"(G) Disparity in income between parties or households;
"(H) Benefits that either parent receives from remarriage or sharing living expenses with another person;
"(I) The amount of federal, state, and local taxes actually paid or estimated to be paid by a parent or both of the parents;
"(J) Significant in-kind contributions from a parent, including, but not limited to, direct payment for lessons, sports equipment, schooling, or clothing;
"(K) The relative financial resources, other assets and resources, and needs of each parent;
"(L) The standard of living and circumstances of each parent and the standard of living the child would have enjoyed had the marriage continued or had the parents been married;
"(M) The physical and emotional condition and needs of the child;
"(N) The need and capacity of the child for an education and the educational opportunities that would have been available to the child had the circumstances requiring a court order for support not arisen;
"(O) The responsibility of each parent for the support of others;
"(P) Any other relevant factor." R.C.
{¶ 11} In his first and third assignments of error, appellant argues that the trial court erred in granting a deviation from the child support guidelines because it did not comply with R.C.
{¶ 12} Appellant also argues that the trial court erred by including the amount of child support appellant was to receive from appellee in the computation of his income. In its journal entry, the trial court states: "After the withholding of taxes and the exchange of child support, Father has more than double the income of mother." Whether there is a disparity in income between parties or households is a factor the court may consider when determining whether a deviation from the child support guidelines is warranted. R.C.
{¶ 13} Appellant argues in his second assignment of error that the court erred in basing its decision to deviate from the child support guidelines on incomplete and outdated affidavits of income and expenses from appellee. This Court disagrees.
{¶ 14} Appellant references an affidavit submitted by appellee dated January 15, 2002. However, the record before this Court does not contain such a document. An appellant has the burden to supply the record that demonstrates the error on appeal. Reese v. Village of Boston Hts.
(Jan. 22, 1992), 9th Dist. No. 15156; see, also, App.R. 9(B). In addition, Loc.R. 5(A) states that "[i]t is the duty of the appellant to arrange for the timely transmission of the record, * * * and to ensure that the appellate court file actually contains all parts of the record that [are] necessary to the appeal." When an appellant's assignment of error is dependent upon evidence that was admitted by the trial court but not included in the record on appeal, the judgment of the trial court carries with it a "presumption of validity." Toledo Trust Co. v. SantaBarbara Found. (1987),
{¶ 15} Appellant also references an affidavit submitted by appellee dated October 24, 2001. Appellant argues that this affidavit is incomplete and not current. The trial court's order stating the amount of appellee's child support obligation was journalized on December 16, 2002. It is not clear from the record whether the trial court considered the affidavit submitted by appellee dated October 24, 2001, in determining whether a deviation was warranted. The record shows that additional evidence was presented by both appellant and appellee on the day of the child support hearing regarding their current income. Furthermore, appellant has not demonstrated that the information contained in the October 24, 2001 affidavit submitted by appellee was incomplete and/or inaccurate. Appellant's second assignment of error is, therefore, overruled.
{¶ 16} In his fourth assignment of error, appellant alleges that the trial court erred in not requesting additional information regarding the breakdown of household expenses between appellee and her live-in boyfriend. R.C.
"The court may consider any of the following factors in determining whether to grant a deviation pursuant to section
"(G) disparity in income between parties or households[.]"
{¶ 17} The language of R.C.
{¶ 18} Appellant argues in his fifth assignment of error that the trial court erred by reducing appellee's responsibility for out of pocket health care expenses.
{¶ 19} This Court notes that appellant has failed to cite any applicable case law on this issue. See Tallmadge v. Cover, 9th Dist. No. 21492, 2003 Ohio 3786, at ¶ 4 (declining to address the appellant's assignment of error because he failed to cite law applicable to the assigned error). As such, appellant has "failed to provide citations to authorities supporting his assignments of error and the standard of review applicable to his assignments of error as required by App.R. 16(A)(7) and Loc.R. 7(A)(6)." Id. Appellant had the burden of affirmatively demonstrating error on appeal. See Angle v. Western ReserveMut. Ins. Co. (Sept. 16, 1998), 9th Dist. No. 2729-M; Frecska v. Frecska (Oct. 1, 1997), 9th Dist. No. 96CA0086. Furthermore, "if an argument exists that can support this assignment of error, it is not this court's duty to root it out." Cardone v. Cardone (May 6, 1998), 9th Dist. Nos. 18349 and 18673. Accordingly, as appellant has failed to set forth any legal error in his fifth assignment of error, this Court declines to address it. Appellant's fifth assignment of error is, therefore, overruled.
Judgment affirmed in part, reversed in part, and cause remanded.
SLABY, P.J. BAIRD, J. CONCUR
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.