noting that the trial court has discretion to order a custodial parent to provide an accounting of- child-support payments, but affirming the denial of a noncustodial father’s request for an accounting because the father neither sought a modification of child support nor made a showing that his payments were too high
How later courts described this case
- noting that the trial court has discretion to order a custodial parent to provide an accounting of- child-support payments, but affirming the denial of a noncustodial father’s request for an accounting because the father neither sought a modification of child support nor made a showing that his payments were too high
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
THOMPSON, Judge,
concurring in the result.
Although I agree with the result reached in the main opinion, I disagree with that portion of the main opinion holding that the father’s request for an accounting is dependent on his seeking a reduction in his child-support obligation.
*496 A child-support obligation calculated pursuant to the Child Support Guidelines and based on the parents’ incomes is presumed to be the correct amount required to meet the basic needs of the child. Rule 32, Ala. R. Jud. Admin. The main opinion’s holding will force a noncustodial parent, such as the father in this case, who is not seeking to reduce the support he pays for his child, to seek such a reduction as a means of ensuring that the child is actually receiving the benefits of the full amount of child support required to meet his or her basic needs.
The decision whether to grant or to deny a request for an accounting of child support is within the trial court’s discretion. I defer to the trial court’s decision to deny the father’s request for an accounting in this case. Therefore, I concur in the result reached in the main opinion.