Anderson v. Anderson
| Decision Date | 03 February 1969 |
| Docket Number | 25167,Nos. 25107,s. 25107 |
| Parties | June Johnson ANDERSON v. Charles Orville ANDERSON, Jr. |
| Court | Missouri Court of Appeals |
Charles V. Garnett, Kansas City, for appellant.
R. B. Miller, Jr., Platte City, for respondent.
Case No. 25,107 is an appeal by plaintiff June Johnson Anderson from a judgment of the trial court denying her motion to modify a prior decerr of divorce by increasing the amount allowed for support and maintenance of a minor daughter in order to provide additional funds for a college education, and by increasing plaintiff's alimony allowance.
Case No. 25,167 is an appeal by plaintiff from a subsequent order and judgment of the trial court awarding her the sum of $500.00 for attorney's fees and suit money for prosecution of her appeal in cause No. 25,107. It is her contention that the allowance should have been in a larger sum. Pursuant to stipulation by the parties, the two eases have been consolidated for review.
On November 15, 1962, plaintiff was granted a divorce from defendant Charles Orville Anderson, Jr., on the ground of indignities. The decree awarded her custody of the one child born of the marriage, a daughter, Candace Reeve Anderson, then twelve years of age. The decree further provided that defendant pay her $80.00 month for child support, $20.00 per month alimony and $250.00 as her attorney's fee. In 1964, when Candace was fourteen years of age, plaintiff filed and presented a motion praying the court to increase the original allowances. That motion was denied.
On March 1, 1968, plaintiff filed the motion which has given rise to this appeal, alleging therein that the conditions and circumstances of the parties have materially changed in that Candace is 'now' seventeen years of age (her 18th birthday was June 20, 1968); that she would graduate from high school in June of 1968, and that she desired to attend Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Additional allegations were to that effect that plaintiff's income was not sufficient to provide Candace's needs and future education but that defendant could do so out of his earnings and property inherited from his father, sufficient for those purposes. The prayer of the motion is for modification of the divorce decree by an appropriate increase in plaintiff's alimony and child support allowances. On May 24th, after hearing evidence on the motion, the trial court denied it, but allowed plaintiff her attorney's fee in the sum of $250.00, and costs. This appeal duly followed.
Plaintiff has not remarried. Since the divorce she has been employed as a secretary for four practicing lawyers in Kansas City, Missouri, earning take home pay of $372.46 per month out of which she trys to maintain a checking account of approximately $200.00 She owns an automobile, but no additional property of any kind other than household goods. Her earnings, together with the $20.00 monthly alimony and $80.00 monthly for child support, are the only source available for the support of herself and Candace.
Defendant has remarried and his present household consists of himself, his present wife, and her daughter--a child by a former marriage. He is presently employed by Missouri-Kansas Chemical Company, as a traveling salesman working on commission. Despite defendant's claim that his income has decreased, in clearly appears from his own federal tax returns that his net (adjusted gross) income for 1966 was $3,108.88, and that for 1967 it was $5,542.97. Since January, 1968, he received additionally the sum of $150.00 per month (subject to payment of taxes, insurance and repairs) as rental for a house he acquired under circumstances later to be noted. The present wife is gainfully employed and has gross earnings of approximately $4,800.00 a year.
At the time the motion was heard Candace was a senior attending Shawnee Mission East High School, from which she would graduate on the following 29th of May. She had a B average and was in the top one-fifth, or upper twenty per cent, of her graduating class. Ever since attending junior high school her field of interest has been the fine arts and she has been taking as many art courses as possible. For two years she was on the staff of the high school year book and was art editor of the publication. She has done paintings in practically all media, including oils, water colors and acrylic. She has exhibited them in high school, won a contest in her sophomore year and has sold some of her paintings. Candace testified that she had discussed her college plans with her father; that she had always been lead to believe that she would attend college; and that there was never any question in her mind that she was going to college. In making her plans she considered several colleges and universities and discussed them with her mother and her art teacher at Shawnee Mission, who is Art Counsellor for the entire Shawnee Mission District and President of the State Art Teachers Association.
Particular effort was made to select a school of a character that would be suitable for her individual needs and future plans. In this connection Candace testified under cross-examination as follows:
'Q. Candy, did you take, actually take into consideration at all what your father may be able to pay toward your education?
A. No, but I did take into consideration that this would be my career. I wanted to get the best training available. I will probably be working many years after college, and since it will probably be my work for the rest of my life I want the best available opportunity to get into the field and do my best.
Q. What was your thinking if in fact he couldn't afford it?
A. That I would work for a few years until I could afford it myself.'
After plaintiff had investigated the quality of art instruction provided by the various colleges and universities, she finally decided that the school of art at Washington University was the best in the area for her daughter's particular requirements and that Candace should complete her education at that institution. It was also Candace's choice as the school she would like to attend. Plaintiff reached her decision after she and Candace had checked the art school at the University of Kansas, which they found had declined both in the quality of work done and its rating. They also visited Kansas State University, but found that it has no real school of art since their art department is divided between the home economics department and the draft engineering department. The University of Missouri, both at Columbia and Kansas City, was also considered, but according to the evidence, neither branch has an art school of any note. Washington University's School of Art is considered one of the best in the entire country. Plaintiff testified: After making their decision, Candace applied to Washington University for admission, has been accepted, and has received written comfirmation of her acceptance. Several weeks prior to the hearing her father talked to her in regard to whether or not she had or had not been accepted by Washington, and there was discussing with him, at that time, regarding the fees at Washington. Defendant inquired of Candace, 'If it wasn't a little expensive' and asked her, 'How I thought I was going to be able to go there.'
The cost of attending the find arts school at Washington University is materially higher than at the other area universities as might be expected, considering that it maintains superior facilities and that it is not a publicly supported institution. The tuition charge amounts to $1,900.00 for the school year. The cost of room and board at the lowest double room figure is $1,165.00 per school year. From figures obtained at the school, the cost of art supplies and books for the school year is estimated at $300.00. These fixed and necessary charges total $3,365.00. Plaintiff explained that Candace would need additional sum for clothing, cleaning and grooming, incidentals, medicine and medical care, and transportation to and from her home. She is having dental work done which requires one trip per month to the orthodontist. Summarizing, plaintiff testified that for a school year of nine months (September through May), those items would run to a total of.$161.03 per month (based on the average expended therefor in 1967), in addition to the $3,365.00 total cost of utition, room and board, and school supplies. As for the remaining three months of the year (June, July and August), plaintiff requested the trial court to allow her $125.00 per month for Candace's maintenance.
The evidence discloses very material changes in the financial condition of defendant since the original decree of divorce was granted and since the hearing on plaintiff's motion in 1964, which was denied. Defendant's father, Charles Orville Anderson, Sr., died on July 23, 1967, survived by defendant as the sole heir of his estate. As such he inherited and is presently the owner of an eighty acre tract of real estate in Platte County located on the east side of U.S. Highway 71, at about 64th or 65th Street, in the vicinity of Breen Hills. It is encumbered only by the expenses of administration, such demands there may have been against the estate, and whatever estate taxes are assessed against it. The rental residence previously referred to is located on the tract. In addition defendant owns a lot in Taney County, also acquired by inheritance from his father. And, upon the death of defendant's father, two jointly owned U.S. bonds in face amounts of $1,000.00 passed to defendant. One bond was chased and applied to funeral expenses but defendant still owns the other bond.
Harvey E. Dowd, the only witness to testify on the value of defendant...
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