Finley v. Scott
| Citation | 707 So.2d 1112 |
| Decision Date | 29 January 1998 |
| Docket Number | No. 90071,90071 |
| Parties | 23 Fla. L. Weekly S149, 23 Fla. L. Weekly S51 Geri E. FINLEY, Appellant, v. Dennis SCOTT, Appellee. |
| Court | United States State Supreme Court of Florida |
Jane E. Carey and Harry H. Morall, II, of Morall & Carey, Orlando, for Petitioner.
Michael R. Walsh, Orlando, for Respondent.
Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General and Barbara A. Ard, Assistant Attorney General, Tampa, for Amicus Curiae the Attorney General of the State of Florida.
Joseph R. Boyd and William H. Branch of Boyd, Lindsey, Williams & Branch, P.A., Tallahassee, Chriss Walker, Department of Revenue, Office of Child Support Enforcement, Tallahassee, for Amicus Curiae Department of Revenue
Raymond A. Alley, Jr., of Raymond A. Alley, P.A., Tampa, for Amicus Curiae Florida Chapter, American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.
We have for review Finley v. Scott, 687 So.2d 338 (Fla. 5th DCA 1997), which expressly and directly conflicts with the opinion in Boyt v. Romanow, 664 So.2d 995 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995). We have jurisdiction. Art. V, § 3(b)(3), Fla. Const.
This is a paternity action brought in the circuit court of Orange County by Finley, the mother of a child born February 20, 1993. The complaint sought determination that Scott was the biological father of the child and also sought support for the child pursuant to section 61.30, Florida Statutes (1993).
By order dated January 25, 1994, the trial court adjudicated Scott to be the child's biological father and ordered temporary child support in the amount of $5000 per month. The trial court's order states that the amount of temporary child support is less than the amount dictated by the child support guidelines imposed by section 61.30(6), Florida Statutes (1993), which would have required child support exceeding $10,000 per month because Scott's gross monthly income was approximately $266,926. 1 In entering an award of temporary child support, the trial court found that it must consider not only the child support guideline amount, but must also consider the actual and bona fide needs of the minor child and the overall financial circumstances of each parent. During this determination of temporary child support, Finley had introduced an affidavit establishing total monthly living expenses of $2128 for herself, the minor child of Scott, and another daughter whose father was not Scott.
In September 1994, Scott filed a petition in the probate division of the Ninth Judicial Circuit in Orange County for the appointment of a guardian of the property of his minor child. Margaret Quarantello, an experienced private guardian of property, was proposed as the guardian of the property. At a hearing held before a judge of the probate division, evidence was presented as to the payment by Scott and use by Finley of the temporary monthly child support payments. The judge found at the end of the hearing that the ordered amount had not been expended for the benefit of the child and that Scott had paid a total of $12,000 above what was needed for the child. The judge declined to honor the preference of the mother in the appointment of the guardian because of "the already-apparent application of a large percentage of the minor's funds to [Finley's] own use and needs." Transcript of Guardianship Hearing at 40, Finley v. Scott, No. PR94-1872 (Fla. 9th Circ.Ct., Nov. 16, 1994). The judge appointed Quarantello to be the guardian of the property of the minor child.
A final hearing in the paternity action was held in December 1994. During this hearing, the trial court considered testimony of the attorney who represented Scott in the guardianship estate for the minor child. The trial court also considered the transcript of the record from the hearing in which the probate division judge appointed the guardian. Additionally, the trial court considered evidence as to the monthly incomes of Finley and Scott and the expenditure of temporary support payments which Scott had made to Finley.
In a paternity judgment dated December 30, 1994, the trial court entered a final adjudication that Scott was the biological father. The trial court awarded primary residential custody and responsibility to Finley, subject to shared parental responsibility. The trial court found that Finley had made misrepresentations to the court concerning financial information and had refused to properly account for the $50,000 of temporary child support that Scott had paid to her.
The trial court found that Finley's request of approximately $10,000 per month in direct child support had no economic relevance to the bona fide actual needs of the child. The trial court found that this Court recently stressed in Miller v. Schou, 616 So.2d 436 (Fla.1993), that "[t]he child is only entitled to share in the good fortune of his parent consistent with an appropriate lifestyle." Id. at 439. The trial court found, based upon section 61.30(1)(a), Florida Statutes (1993), that a court may order a variance of more than five percent from the child support guideline upon a written finding as to why the payments of the guideline amount would be unjust or inappropriate. The trial court stated that it declined to impose the guideline amount suggested by Finley in the amount of $10,011 but rather awarded the sum of $5000 per month because it found that this amount of support was "consistent with the actual and bona fide needs of the minor child and the overall financial circumstances of each parent and will therefore foster and promote an appropriate lifestyle for her." Final Judgment of Paternity at 14, Finley v. Scott, No. DR93-10246 (Fla. 9th Circ.Ct., Dec. 30, 1994). The trial court further found that $5000 per month "achieves a more equitable result" pursuant to section 61.30(11)(k), Florida Statutes (1993). Id. at 16.
The trial court ordered Scott to pay $2000 per month directly to Finley and $3000 per month to Quarantello, as guardian of the property of the minor child. The court ordered Scott to pay the child support commencing January 1, 1995, "until the minor child attains the age of eighteen years, dies, marries, joins the military service, comes to permanently reside with [Scott] under an order modifying residential custody, until the death of [Scott], or until further order of Court." Id. at 17.
Finley appealed the final judgment, arguing that the trial court should have awarded the full guideline amount, $10,011, and that the trial court had no authority to require any of the support payment to be paid into a guardianship trust. Scott cross-appealed, arguing that the $3000 per month ordered to be paid to the guardian of the property was an abuse of discretion in that the $3000 was in excess of the child's actual needs.
The Fifth District considered the case en banc. The en banc majority held that the trial court erred in awarding child support in the amount of $5000 per month when it found that only $2000 was required to meet the day-to-day living requirements of the child. Finley v. Scott, 687 So.2d 338, 342 (Fla. 5th DCA 1997). The majority concluded that the trial court erred in ordering an additional "good fortune award" of $3000 to be paid to the guardian. Id. at 340. The majority stated that the trial court's judgment in this regard was probably influenced by Boyt v. Romanow, 664 So.2d 995 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995), and by dictum in Schou. 2 Id. at 340. The Fifth District majority acknowledged an apparent conflict with Boyt and stated its disagreement with the Second District's interpretation of Schou as allowing good-fortune awards. Id. The majority below then reversed and remanded "for further action consistent with this opinion." Id. at 344. We interpret this to mean that the district court majority directed the trial court to enter a judgment in which the support amount to be paid to Finley is $2000.
In the district court, Judges Sharp, Goshorn, and Griffin each wrote dissenting opinions disagreeing with the majority's characterization of the issues, the majority's analysis, and the majority's decision to reverse. Regarding the appropriate amount of child support, Judge Goshorn wrote:
In the present case, I find that the trial court correctly determined that it was not bound to mathematically apply the guideline amount; rather, it properly concluded that paragraph 61.30(1)(a) could be applied to situations such as this where the guideline amount would yield an unintended and unreasonable result. See also § 61.30(11)(k), Fla. Stat. (1993) ().
Finley, 687 So.2d at 348. We agree with Judge Goshorn's opinion endorsing a support amount of $5000, the amount awarded by the trial court.
As the trial court's final judgment recognized, the correct analysis of the amount of child support appropriate in this case begins with section 61.30(1)(a), Florida Statutes (1993), which provides:
The child support guideline amount as determined by this section presumptively establishes the amount the trier of fact shall order as child support in an initial proceeding for such support or in a proceeding for modification of an existing order for such support, whether the proceeding arises under this or another chapter. The trier of fact may order payment of child support which varies, plus or minus 5 percent, from the guideline amount. The trier of fact may order payment of child support in an amount which varies more than 5 percent from such guideline amount only upon a written finding, or a specific finding on the record, explaining why ordering payment of such guideline amount would be unjust or inappropriate.
This section is followed by section 61.30(6), Florida Statutes (1993), which provides a schedule to be applied in determining the minimum child support need according to combined income and number of children.
We find that the schedule for determining the amount of child...
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