Dentist to Pay $3.2K/Mo. Child Supprt + 65% Private School Tuition
Tennessee child support modification case summary.
Andrea (Messer) Schwager v. Timothy Scott Messer
The mother and father in this Shelby County, Tennessee, case were both dentists. They entered into a marital dissolution agreement in 2009, and this was adopted by the court. The father was responsible for a larger portion of the marital debt, and the trial court relieved the father of his full child support obligation in recognition of this. The final child support award was $1,000 per month.
In 2015, the mother filed a petition to modify child support, and the case was heard by Judge Jerry Stokes after another judge recused himself.
The main issue was the father’s income from his dental practice, and two CPA’s testified. The mother’s expert was CPA Robert Vance, and the father relied on the testimony of CPA Kevin Thomas.
After considering the evidence, the trial court set the father’s income at $40,000 per month, and that both parties’ income had substantially increased from the time of the original divorce. Ultimately, the court set the father’s obligation at $3,200 per month, but that the increase would not be retroactive. After various post-trial motions, both parties appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.
The mother’s main argument on appeal was that the change should have been retroactive. She also raised issues regarding private school expenses. The trial court also ordered that the father would pay 65% of the children’s private school tuition and the mother would pay 35%.
The father, on the other hand, raised a number of evidentiary issues regarding the determination of income.
After reviewing the standard of review, the appeals court first turned to the recalculation of child support. The mother argued that the award should date back to 2011, since the original agreement called for the issue to be revisited then. However, the trial court and appeals court both agreed that since the mother did not file her motion until 2015, the award would not be retroactive prior to that date.
The appeals court also addressed the question of interest on arrearages before turning to private school expenses. After reviewing the lower court’s findings, the court held that the trial court had made an appropriate division.
Before turning to the evidentiary issues, the appeals court affirmed the lower court’s income determinations. It turned first to the expert witness testimony of the CPA’s, and began by noting that admissibility of expert testimony is normally within the trial court’s discretion. The father argued that the mother’s expert used faulty methodology, but the appeals court examined his opinion in detail and held that the trial court properly admitted the evidence. It noted that the father’s attorney was allowed a thorough cross examination of the witness. The appeals court therefore allowed the evidence.
After addressing a number of attorney fee issues, the Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court in its entirety.
No. W2018-01820-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Sept. 27, 2019).
See original opinion for exact language. Legal citations omitted.
To learn more, see Child Support Modification in Tennessee | How to Modify Child Support.
See also Tennessee Parenting Plans and Child Support Worksheets: Building a Constructive Future for Your Family featuring actual examples of parenting plans and child support worksheets from real cases available on Amazon.com.
