Humberger v. Humberger, 25172.
| Decision Date | 25 February 2000 |
| Docket Number | No. 25172.,25172. |
| Citation | 995 P.2d 809,134 Idaho 39 |
| Parties | Tani Page HUMBERGER, n/k/a Tani Page Hall, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Tod L. HUMBERGER, Defendant-Respondent. |
| Court | Idaho Supreme Court |
John B. Kugler, Pocatello, for appellant.
Hollifield and Bevan, Twin Falls, for respondent.
ON REVIEW
This is a review of a Court of Appeals decision concerning a magistrate's order modifying the child support provision of a divorce decree with respect to whether the appellant was voluntarily unemployed, and whether the trial court abused its discretion in calculating the respondent's adjusted gross income. We reverse in part and vacate in part the magistrate's order, and remand the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Appellant Tani Hall (Hall), formerly Tani Humberger, and respondent Tod Humberger (Humberger) were married in December of 1985, and divorced in August of 1987. One child, Brandi, was born to the parties. The divorce decree awarded Hall primary physical custody of Brandi, with Humberger having reasonable rights of visitation. Humberger was ordered to pay $150.00 per month in child support and to maintain medical insurance for the child. Both parties were ordered to split equally medical expenses not covered by insurance. Hall was given the benefit of claiming the child for income tax purposes, and the parties were ordered to pay their own attorney fees.
In October of 1995, Hall filed a petition for modification of the divorce decree. In her petition, Hall asserted that Brandi's needs had increased and that her ability to pay support had decreased while Humberger's ability had increased. Thus, Hall claimed that a permanent, material and substantial change of circumstances had occurred and modification was therefore justified pursuant to the Idaho Child Support Guidelines (Guidelines or I.C.S.G.). Hall sought an increase in the amount of child support, modification of the provision in the decree relating to medical expenses unpaid by insurance, and the payment of attorney fees. Humberger filed a response denying his increased ability to pay child support and asserted that Hall was voluntarily unemployed. Humberger agreed to modify the provision of the decree dealing with payment of medical expenses not covered by insurance from equal shares to prorata shares, but disputed Hall's claim for attorney fees and asserted his own request for such fees.
Subsequently, Humberger filed his own petition for modification, seeking to have child support set in accordance with the Guidelines and further requesting that he receive the child dependency exemption. In July 1996, the cross-motions for modification were tried to the magistrate court. Both parties presented exhibits and testimony in support of their motions. At trial, the magistrate accepted the stipulation of the parties to a new visitation schedule and took the child support issues under advisement. The magistrate thereafter issued an order and opinion increasing Humberger's child support obligation from $150.00 per month to $253.00 per month, and ordered each party to pay his or her own attorney fees and costs. The magistrate court further found that Hall was voluntarily unemployed based on her decision to attend college. The magistrate found that Hall had the potential to earn $7.00 an hour based on a 1995 summer job and imputed income to her in the amount of $14,000 a year based on that figure. The court ordered annual re-evaluations of Humberger's child support obligation due to the unpredictable nature of his employment and income as a journeyman electrician. Humberger was also awarded the child dependency exemption for income tax purposes.
In September 1996, Hall filed a motion for relief to set aside the magistrate court's order on the ground that it was unjust, and also requested the opportunity to present oral argument. The magistrate denied the motion without holding a hearing. Hall appealed to the district court asserting that the magistrate erred in determining the parties' individual incomes, in awarding the tax exemption to Humberger, in denying her request for attorney fees, and in denying her motion for relief from the court's order. The district court affirmed the magistrate's order and opinion. Hall appealed.
In an unpublished opinion, the Court of Appeals affirmed in part and reversed in part the magistrate's decision, remanding the case for further proceedings. Humberger v. Humberger, 98.19 ICAR 835 (Idaho Ct.App. Sept. 14, 1998). The Court of Appeals held that: (1) the magistrate erred in concluding Hall was voluntarily unemployed solely on the basis of her full-time educational pursuits, and there was insufficient factual support that Hall could earn $7.00 per hour for fifty weeks a year for purposes of imputing income; (2) the trial court did not abuse its discretion in deducting trade-related expenses from Humberger's gross income; (3) the trial court abused its discretion in awarding Humberger the child dependency exemption without accounting for the benefit in the child support award; (4) the trial court did not err in denying Hall's I.R.C.P. 60(b) motion without holding a hearing; and (5) the trial court abused its discretion in denying Hall's request for attorney fees without making appropriate findings. This Court granted review as to issues (1) and (2) only.
ISSUES ON REVIEW
The issues granted for review are as follows:
In cases that come before this Court on a petition for review of a Court of Appeals decision, this Court gives serious consideration to the views of the Court of Appeals, but directly reviews the decisions of the trial court. See Marshall v. Blair, 130 Idaho 675, 679, 946 P.2d 975, 979 (1997)
. This Court will not set aside the trial court's findings of fact unless they are clearly erroneous. See id. As to questions of law, this Court exercises free review. See Jensen v. Jensen 128 Idaho 600, 604, 917 P.2d 757, 761 (1996).
Hall asserts that the trial court abused its discretion in determining that she was voluntarily unemployed and in disregarding her status as a full-time student. Specifically, Hall argues that because Humberger failed to meet his burden of demonstrating that she was voluntarily unemployed, the trial court erred in imputing income to her on this basis. In addition, Hall argues that the court abused its discretion in failing to set forth the basis for its finding that she was voluntarily unemployed and for refusing to recognize her student income and status pursuant to I.C.S.G. § 6(c)(1)(B).
Hall was employed as a waitress for a cumulative period of ten years, both during her marriage to and after her divorce from Humberger. When Hall lost her job as a waitress and could not find employment sufficient to provide for herself and her two children,1 she decided to seek a college degree. Hall testified that she was a full-time student at Idaho State University pursuing a career in vocational education and that she would complete her degree in two years and would thereafter potentially be earning $20,000 to $25,000 per year. Although Hall worked as a survey and drafting technician in the summer of 1995 for $7.00 per hour, she testified that she did not seek employment in the summer of 1996 because she was attending summer school on Tuesday and Thursday nights from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., and also participating in a correspondence course from home. Hall testified that from January through May 1996 she attended school Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. She also testified that in the fall of 1996, she had secured a job as a student aide at Marsh Valley High School, where she would work from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday while attending night classes Monday, Tuesday and Thursday nights from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Although Hall was not to be compensated for her work as a student aide, she was to receive credit toward her degree. In 1996, Hall received approximately $2,700 in educational grants.
On the basis of Hall's testimony, the magistrate concluded: Hall argues that the trial court disregarded her student status and abused its discretion in determining that she was voluntarily unemployed and imputing full-time draftsman income to her on this basis.
Because there appears to be confusion with respect to which party has the burden of proof in a child support modification proceeding, preliminarily, the Court will address that issue. Hall cites two cases, Rohr v. Rohr, 126 Idaho 1, 878 P.2d 175 (Ct.App. 1994), and Jensen v. Jensen, 128 Idaho 600, 917 P.2d 757 (1996), which she contends are in conflict regarding the burden of proof in a child support modification action and asks this Court for clarification.
878 P.2d at 177. In deciding that the child support...
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