Madison v. Madison, 92-168

• Court: Wyoming Supreme Court
• Writing for the Court: Before MACY; GOLDEN; CARDINE, Justice, dissenting, with whom TAYLOR
• Citation: Madison v. Madison, 859 P.2d 1276 (Wyo. 1993)
• Decision Date: 23 September 1993
• Docket Number: No. 92-168,92-168
• Parties: Douglas G. MADISON, Appellant (Plaintiff), v. Donna Lynn MADISON, n/k/a Donna Lynn Eisele, Appellee (Defendant).

Page 1276

859 P.2d 1276 Douglas G. MADISON, Appellant (Plaintiff),
v.
Donna Lynn MADISON, n/k/a Donna Lynn Eisele, Appellee (Defendant). No. 92-168. Supreme Court of Wyoming. Sept. 23, 1993.

Page 1277

Rhonda Sigrist Woodard, Burke, Woodard & Bishop, P.C., Cheyenne, for appellant.

Diane M. Lathrop, Wiederspahn, Lummis & Liepas, P.C., Fort Collins, CO, for appellee.

Before MACY, C.J., and THOMAS, CARDINE, GOLDEN and TAYLOR, JJ.

GOLDEN, Justice.

In this appeal we must determine whether the district court erred in increasing appellant's child support based on an average of his income for a four-year period of time and whether a district court has authority to modify a child support award, adding to it an "escalation clause."

We affirm.

ISSUES

Appellant Douglas G. Madison raises these issues:

I. Whether the court erred in providing that Mr. Madison's child support obligation could be increased, and not decreased, automatically each year based solely on his adjusted gross income.

A. Whether the court erred in not expressing the child support in a specific dollar amount as required by W.S. § 20-6-304(a).

B. Whether the annual automatic child support adjustments improperly side-step the required showing of a material and substantial change of circumstances and the consideration of factors other than the obligor's income.

C. Whether the court erred in establishing a child support provision which automatically increases if Mr. Madison's income exceeds $51,238.20 but does not provide for automatic decreases if Mr. Madison's income is less than that amount.

D. Whether the court erred in not providing for reimbursement to Mr. Madison if the increased child support level in any particular year is greater than $1,270 per month, but his income actually supports lesser child support.

E. Whether the requirement that the child support automatically increase based on adjusted gross income (with the adjustment to arrive at net income) was error by the court.

II. Whether the court erred in basing appellant's child support obligation on an average of appellant's income over a four-year period.

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Appellee Donna (Madison) Eisele submits this restatement of the issues:

I. Whether the court correctly applied the law of the State of Wyoming when it averaged Mr. Madison's income over four-years.

II. Whether, based upon the facts of this case, the court properly established a range of child support, with automatic annual adjustments. Said range is specific to the extent necessary to comply with W.S. § 20-6-304(a) and the formula provided is equitable in that neither party is precluded from petitioning the court for adjustments pursuant to the Wyoming child support guidelines.

III. Whether the court properly established an increase in child support when Mr. Madison's income increases.

IV. Whether the court properly considered the issue of "phantom income" when determining Mr. Madison's income and subsequent child support payments.

FACTS

Madison filed a complaint seeking a divorce on December 28, 1982. The parties have two children who are now approximately 13 and 15 years of age. A decree of divorce was entered on May 11, 1983, and provided for the division of the marital property, that Eisele would have custody of the children, and that Madison was to pay a total of $700 per month as child support for their two children. He was also required to provide health and medical insurance for the children and to pay one-half of all medical expenses not covered by insurance. An amended decree, entered on June 28, 1983, altered some provisions of the decree and accorded Madison the right to...