The opinion
Dale Price, Justice, dissenting. I respectfully dissent. I am disturbed by the majority’s refusal to try this case de novo and require the non-custodial parent to pay child support, using the chart as a guide and taking into consideration the relative ability of each party to pay.
It is shocking to me that the relative income of the parties was not given any weight, either by the chancellor or this court, in determining whether the child support chart should be applied to the non-custodial parent. In my opinion, the bench, bar and public in general need to be instructed that, for those people with incomes above $3,000 per month, the chart may be interpolated to arrive at the correct amount of support. Thereafter, if the amount of support which would normally be payable is greater than the needs of the child or children, the chancellor, by written findings, may make such reduction as is reasonable.
In this case, the mother had asked for child support to help her with her claimed monthly household budget of $2,742.95. This figure included $850 per month for the oldest child’s college expenses. The chancellor found that the mother’s income was $ 1,300 per month. The father’s income was $ 194,756 per year, or, for chart purposes, $16,229.99 per month. The court found that the $850 should be deducted from the mother’s request because the child’s trust was providing for her college expenses. Next, the chancellor deducted the mother’s $1,300 monthly income from the request, leaving approximately $600 in expenses not covered by her budget. That amount was assessed to the father to pay as child support.
The chancellor’s holding requires the custodial parent to expend 100 % of her net monthly income, meager as it is, before the non-custodial parent is required to contribute to his children’s expenses. If the mother had earned an additional $600 per month, bringing her total income to $1,900 per month, under the judge’s ruling, the father would contribute nothing. Common sense and fairness dictate that this is not the intent of our support chart. It is not, or at least in my view should not be, the law with reference to child support.
The chancellor also stated that he did not use the support chart because it did not go as high as the father’s earnings, but that if he had, according to his interpretation, the father would be paying $1,750 per month for one child, or a total of $3,268 per month for two children as child support. That is a far cry from $600 per month for two children.
I do not wish to conclude this dissent without applauding the father, who has set up trust funds of approximately $38,000 for each child and purchased a car and paid the insurance on it for the oldest child. He had the ability to do so, and this is as it should be. However, it should not be required that the custodial parent be expected to expend all her earnings before the non-custodial parent kicks in to supply the basic day-to-day living expenses of the children.
I would amend the per curiam delivered February 5, 1990, In re: Guidelines for Child Support Enforcement, 301 Ark. 627 , 784 S.W.2d 589 (1990), to require that in cases of those noncustodial parents whose income exceeds the amounts shown on the chart, support should be increased by 10% per $100 of earnings per child, not to exceed 50%. I would also require the chancellor to take into consideration the relative disposable income of each parent in setting child support.
For these reasons, I dissent.
Turner, J., joins the dissent.