in the Matter of the Marriage of Isis Spencer Butts and Rickey Sharnard Butts , 2014 Tex. App. LEXIS 9147 ( 2014 )


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  • Affirmed in Part and Reversed and Remanded in Part and Opinion filed
    August 19, 2014.
    In The
    Fourteenth Court of Appeals
    NO. 14-13-00536-CV
    IN THE MATTER OF THE MARRIAGE OF ISIS SPENCER BUTTS AND
    RICKEY SHARNARD BUTTS
    On Appeal from the 344th District Court
    Chambers County, Texas
    Trial Court Cause No. CV-27505
    OPINION
    Appellant Rickey Butts brings this restricted appeal from the trial court’s
    final decree of divorce. Rickey contends the evidence is insufficient to support the
    trial court’s orders appointing appellee Isis Butts as sole managing conservator of
    the couple’s child and awarding $800 per month in child support. Rickey also
    contends the judgment is void for vagueness. Because error is shown on the face of
    the appellate record, we affirm in part and reverse and remand in part for further
    proceedings.
    BACKGROUND
    In 2002, Rickey and Isis were married and resided in Florida. Later that
    year, the couple had their only child, R.B. In 2011, Rickey and Isis stopped living
    together, and in 2012, Isis filed a petition for divorce in Texas. Rickey signed a
    waiver of service regarding the pending divorce case. In the waiver, Rickey listed
    his home address as Belle Glade, Florida. The waiver contains language indicating
    that by signing, Rickey enters an appearance as a substitute for going to court,
    “agrees that the court can make decisions in this case without further notice to
    [him],” and agrees that “the Judge . . . of the court may make decisions about [his]
    divorce.” This waiver was filed with the court on October 24, 2012.
    On December 19, 2012, a hearing was held in which Isis appeared pro se.
    Rickey did not appear. At the conclusion of the hearing, the trial court signed a
    final decree of divorce. The trial court also ordered that, and among other things,
    Isis was appointed the sole managing conservator of R.B. and Rickey was required
    to pay $800 a month in child support. On June 18, 2013, Rickey filed a notice of
    restricted appeal.
    ISSUES AND ANALYSIS
    Rickey presents three issues on appeal: (1) the trial court abused its
    discretion in its child support determination because the evidence is legally and
    factually insufficient to support the determination; (2) the trial court abused its
    discretion in appointing Isis as the sole managing conservator because the evidence
    is legally and factually insufficient to support the appointment; and (3) the
    judgment of the trial court is void for vagueness. In response, Isis contends that
    Rickey has not met the requirements of a restricted appeal and, alternatively, that
    the trial court did not abuse its discretion and the judgment is not void.
    2
    I.    Isis’s Challenge to Rickey’s Restricted Appeal
    As a threshold matter, Isis urges that Rickey is not entitled to bring a
    restricted appeal because he cannot satisfy the requirements of a restricted appeal.
    To bring a restricted appeal, Rickey must establish that: (1) he filed notice of the
    restricted appeal within six months after the judgment was signed; (2) he was a
    party to the underlying lawsuit; (3) he did not participate in the hearing that
    resulted in the judgment complained of and did not timely file any post-judgment
    motions or requests for findings of fact and conclusions of law; and (4) error is
    apparent on the face of the record. See Alexander v. Lynda’s Boutique, 
    134 S.W.3d 845
    , 848 (Tex. 2004). Isis challenges only elements three and four.
    A.     Failure to Participate in the Decision-Making Event
    Isis contends that Rickey participated in the hearing resulting in the
    judgment because the “Waiver of Service” form Rickey signed is sufficient to
    constitute participation in the decision-making event. In the form, Rickey swore
    under oath that by signing, he was entering an appearance as a substitute for going
    to court. The form also included the following statements on which Isis relies: (1)
    “I have read the Petition for Divorce and understand what it says . . . .”; and (2) “I
    agree that a Judge, Associate Judge, or appointed Referee of the Court may make
    decisions about my divorce . . . .” Isis also argues that by signing the form, Rickey
    is estopped from denying his participation in the decision-making event. We
    address both of these arguments.
    1.     Rickey did not participate by signing the waiver of service.
    When analyzing the third element of nonparticipation, the investigation turns
    on whether the appellant took part in the “decision-making event” that resulted in
    an adjudication of the appellant’s rights. Texaco, Inc. v. Cent. Power & Light Co.,
    3
    
    925 S.W.2d 586
    , 589 (Tex. 1996). It is not necessary that an appellant attend the
    trial on the merits in order to be deemed as having taken part in a decision-making
    event. 
    Id. Whether someone
    participated in the decision-making event is a matter
    of degree “because trial courts decide cases in a myriad of procedural settings.”
    McKnight v. Trogdon-McKnight, 
    132 S.W.3d 126
    , 129 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th
    Dist.] 2004, no pet.) (citing Texaco, 
    Inc., 925 S.W.2d at 589
    ); see also Tramco
    Enters., Inc. v. Indep. Am. Sav. Ass’n, 
    739 S.W.2d 944
    , 946 (Tex. App.—Fort
    Worth 1987, no writ) (stating that “the courts . . . have recognized that a large
    degree of participation is required before a party is denied appeal by writ of
    error”).
    The law is clear that signing a waiver of service alone is not sufficient to
    constitute participation for purposes of a restricted appeal. See, e.g., Stubbs v.
    Stubbs, 
    685 S.W.2d 643
    , 645 (Tex. 1985); Seymour v. Seymour, No. 14-07-00280-
    CV, 
    2009 WL 442259
    , at *2 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] Feb. 10, 2009)
    (mem. op.); Campsey v. Campsey, 
    111 S.W.3d 767
    , 771 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth
    2003, no pet.). This is true even when the language of the waiver indicates that by
    signing, one is entering an appearance as a substitute for going to trial, giving a
    judge permission to make decisions in the case without further notice to the signor,
    and waiving the making of a record of testimony. See Seymour, 
    2009 WL 442259
    at *1–2; 
    Campsey, 111 S.W.3d at 769
    –71. Though the language in the form signed
    by Rickey may be broad, this court will treat the form as what it purports to be—a
    waiver of service. As such, we conclude that Rickey did not participate in the
    decision-making event by merely signing the form.
    2.    Rickey is not estopped from denying participation.
    Isis also asserts that Rickey is judicially estopped from challenging the
    decisions made by the judge in his divorce action. Judicial estoppel “precludes a
    4
    party from adopting a position inconsistent with one that it maintained successfully
    in an earlier proceeding.” Pleasant Glade Assembly of God v. Schubert, 
    264 S.W.3d 1
    , 6 (Tex. 2008). The doctrine of judicial estoppel applies if all of the
    following elements are present: (1) a sworn, prior inconsistent statement made in a
    judicial proceeding; (2) the party now sought to be estopped successfully
    maintained the prior position; (3) the prior inconsistent statement was not made
    inadvertently or because of mistake, fraud, or duress; and (4) the statement was
    deliberate, clear and unequivocal. Spera v. Fleming, Hovenkamp & Grayson, P.C.,
    
    25 S.W.3d 863
    , 871 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2000, no pet.); Vinson &
    Elkins v. Moran, 
    946 S.W.2d 381
    , 396 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1997,
    writ dism’d by agr.).
    Isis claims that the waiver of service signed by Rickey—in which he agreed
    under oath that a judge may make decisions in the divorce action without further
    notice to him—is inconsistent with Rickey’s appeal of the judge’s decision. But,
    “[a]n appeal in the same case is not a ‘subsequent action’ to which judicial
    estoppel applies.” Graves v. Tomlinson, 
    329 S.W.3d 128
    , 138 (Tex. App.—
    Houston [14th Dist.] 2010, pet. denied). Because Rickey is making an appeal in the
    same case in which the alleged prior inconsistent statement was made, the doctrine
    of judicial estoppel does not apply.
    Nevertheless, Isis’s brief may be fairly construed to include an argument that
    Rickey is equitably estopped from appealing because the language in the waiver of
    service is inconsistent with the requirement of nonparticipation in the decision-
    making event. See Tex. R. App. P. 38.1(f) (“The statement of an issue or point will
    be treated as covering every subsidiary question that is fairly included.”). 1 We
    1
    Although most of Isis’s argument refers to the doctrine of judicial estoppel, Isis’s brief
    also includes the following: “The doctrine of equitable estoppel exists to prevent the very
    conduct [Rickey] has displayed here . . . . The Court should hold that [Rickey] is estopped from
    5
    understand Isis’s position to be that, having authorized the trial court to make
    decisions for him, Rickey cannot now deny the trial court’s authority.
    Isis argues that Seymour, on which Rickey relies, actually supports her
    position because in that case, this Court held that the appellant “acquiesced” to the
    divorce decree by signing a post-judgment motion to reinstate, effectively
    indicating her approval of the divorce decree’s terms and precluding her restricted
    appeal. See 
    2009 WL 442259
    at *2–3. But unlike the appellant in Seymour, Rickey
    took no additional actions after signing the waiver of service. As previously
    discussed, the signing of a waiver of service alone is insufficient to constitute
    participation in the decision-making event, even when that waiver contains
    language authorizing the judge to make decisions in the case. See Seymour, 
    2009 WL 442259
    at *1–2; 
    Campsey, 111 S.W.3d at 769
    –71. Because the record reflects
    no additional actions by Rickey that would rise to the level of participation at trial,
    Rickey is not equitably estopped from denying his participation.
    Isis also argues that “[t]he restricted appeal is not a means to give a party
    who suffers a default judgment at his own hands another opportunity to have the
    merits of its case reviewed.” As support for this proposition, Isis relies on Classic
    Promotions, Inc. v. Shafer, 
    846 S.W.2d 948
    , 951 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.]
    1993, no writ), abrogated by Texaco, Inc. v. Cent. Power & Light Co., 
    925 S.W.2d 586
    (Tex. 1996), and Flores v. H.E. Butt Grocery Co., 
    802 S.W.2d 53
    , 55 (Tex.
    App.—Corpus Christi 1990, no writ). However, in Texaco, the Supreme Court of
    Texas disapproved of Classic Promotions and other cases similarly holding that a
    restricted appeal is not available to a party that fails to exercise diligence and
    suffers a judgment because of its own actions. See Texaco, Inc., 925 S.W.2d at
    asserting that he did not participate in the decision-making event after having decided to ask the
    court to decide.”
    6
    590. The Court held that a party seeking a restricted appeal was “not required to
    show diligence or lack of negligence before its complaints will be heard.” 
    Id. Guided by
    Texaco, we conclude that Rickey is not estopped from denying his
    participation at the decision-making event.
    B.    Error Apparent on the Face of the Record
    Isis next contends that Rickey is not entitled to a restricted appeal because
    Rickey’s challenges to the sufficiency of the evidence supporting the trial court’s
    rulings rely on an absence of evidence, and that the absence of evidence is not
    error apparent on the face of the record. The authorities upon which Isis relies are
    distinguishable, however, because they involve complaints that a party did not
    receive notice of trial court proceedings, not complaints that the evidence is
    insufficient to support the judgment. See Gold v. Gold, 
    145 S.W.3d 212
    , 213 (Tex.
    2004) (per curiam) (holding that failure of record to affirmatively show that notice
    of intent to dismiss was sent to a party was not error on the face of the record);
    
    Alexander, 134 S.W.3d at 849
    (same).
    For purposes of a restricted appeal, the face of the record concsists of “all
    the papers on file in the appeal,” including the reporter’s record. Norman
    Commc’ns v. Tex. Eastman Co., 
    955 S.W.2d 269
    , 270 (Tex. 1997) (per curiam).
    Because the scope of review in a restricted appeal is the same as in an ordinary
    appeal, an appellant may challenge the legal and factual sufficiency of the
    evidence. Id.; see also Osteen v. Osteen, 
    38 S.W.3d 809
    , 813 (Tex. App.—Houston
    [14th Dist.] 2001, no pet.) (holding that error was apparent on the face of the
    record after applying a legal sufficiency review to a divorce decree); Gonzalez v.
    Gonzalez, 
    331 S.W.3d 864
    , 868 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2011, no pet.) (holding that
    error was apparent on the face of the record when record lacked evidence regarding
    obligor’s net resources in child support determination). We therefore will address
    7
    Rickey’s sufficiency challenges to determine whether there is error on the face of
    the record.
    II.   Rickey’s Issues on Appeal
    A.      The Trial Court’s Child Support and Conservatorship Orders
    In his first two issues, Rickey contends that the trial court abused its
    discretion by requiring him to pay $800 per month in child support and appointing
    Isis as sole managing conservator because there is no evidence to support these
    rulings. The standard of review in both child support and managing
    conservatorship orders is abuse of discretion. In re A.M.P., 
    368 S.W.3d 842
    , 846
    (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2012, no pet.) (child support); In re R.T.K., 
    324 S.W.3d 896
    , 899 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2010, pet. denied)
    (conservatorship). Generally, a court abuses its discretion when it acts
    unreasonably, arbitrarily, or without reference to any guiding principles. In re
    
    R.T.K., 324 S.W.3d at 899
    . Legal and factual sufficiency challenges are not
    independent grounds of error; instead, they are factors to be considered in
    determining whether the trial court abused its discretion. 
    Id. A trial
    court does not
    abuse its discretion if there is some evidence of a substantive and probative
    character to support its decision. 
    Id. at 900.
    1.      No evidence supports the trial court’s child support order.
    Rickey argues that the trial court abused its discretion in ordering him to pay
    $800 per month in child support because the record is devoid of any evidence of
    his net resources and the trial court made no findings to support a deviation from
    the Family Code’s child support guidelines. Rickey requests that this court reverse
    the trial court’s child support order and either render judgment awarding child
    support consistent with the guidelines or remand the issue for further proceedings.
    8
    Generally, child support is calculated by applying statutory guidelines to the
    obligor’s monthly net resources. See Tex. Fam. Code §§ 154.062(a), 154.124. For
    one child, the guidelines provide that child support is to equal twenty percent of the
    obligor’s net resources. 
    Id. § 154.125(b).
    The trial court may deviate from the
    guidelines if evidence rebuts the presumption that application of the guidelines is
    in the best interest of the child. 
    Id. § 154.123.
    If the guidelines are not followed, a
    trial court must make specific findings as to (1) the net resources of the obligor and
    the obligee, (2) the percentage applied to the obligor’s net resources, and (3) if
    applicable, the specific reasons for the deviation from the guidelines.
    
    Id. § 154.130(a)(3),
    (b).
    Absent evidence of the obligor’s net resources, the trial court is required to
    presume that the obligor has wages or salary equal to the federal minimum wage
    for a forty-hour week. Act of April 6, 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 20, § 1, 1995 Tex. Gen.
    Laws 118, 161 (amended 2013) (current version at Tex. Fam. Code § 154.068);
    Moreno v. Perez, 
    363 S.W.3d 725
    , 736 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2011, no
    pet.). Based on the 2012 minimum-wage guidelines, Rickey calculates the
    applicable amount of child support to be less than $230 per month.
    Isis argues that child support of $800 per month is justified because the
    record establishes that she had net resources of only $600 per month, Rickey was
    employed at the Butts Memorial Chapel, Rickey caused Isis to lose her car by
    ceasing to make payments on it, and Isis testified that $800 per month in child
    support would be in the best interest of the child. But Isis presented no evidence
    regarding Rickey’s financial resources.
    Absent evidence of Rickey’s financial resources, the statutory presumption
    that Rickey earns the federal minimum wage for a forty-hour week applies. See
    
    Moreno, 363 S.W.3d at 736
    . Applying this presumption, the trial court’s award of
    9
    $800 per month is much more than twenty percent of Rickey’s presumed net
    resources. Assuming the trial court determined that the evidence supported
    deviating from the child support guidelines, the trial court was required to make
    the specific findings required by the Family Code. See Tex. Fam. Code § 154.130.
    However, the trial court did not make the required findings, either in writing or
    orally at the hearing.
    We therefore hold that the trial court abused its discretion in ordering Rickey
    to pay $800 per month in child support in the absence of any evidence of Rickey’s
    net resources and without making the statutorily mandated findings. See Omodele
    v. Adams, No. 14-01-00999-CV, 
    2003 WL 133602
    at *4–5 (Tex. App.—Houston
    [14th Dist.] Jan. 16, 2003, no pet.) (mem. op.) (holding that in the absence of
    evidence of the obligor’s net resources, the trial court abused its discretion by
    awarding child support in excess of the federal minimum wage presumption
    without making the findings required by § 154.130). We therefore sustain Rickey’s
    first issue.
    2.      Some evidence supports appointment of Isis as sole managing
    conservator.
    In his second point of error, Rickey argues that the trial court abused its
    discretion in awarding Isis sole managing conservatorship of their child because no
    evidence was presented to overcome the presumption that it is in the child’s best
    interest to appoint both parents as joint managing conservators, and the trial court
    made no findings in connection with the conservatorship issue. Rickey requests
    that this Court reverse the trial court’s conservatorship order and either render
    judgment that Rickey and Isis are joint managing conservators or remand for
    further proceedings.
    In Texas, the primary consideration in determining conservatorship is the
    10
    best interest of the child. Tex. Fam. Code § 153.002; In re V.L.K., 
    24 S.W.3d 338
    ,
    342 (Tex. 2000).The trial court is required to presume that the appointment of the
    parents as joint managing conservators is in the best interest of the child until
    evidence is presented to rebut this presumption. See Tex. Fam. Code § 153.131(b).
    The party seeking appointment as sole managing conservator has the burden to
    rebut the presumption. Lide v. Lide, 
    116 S.W.3d 147
    , 152 (Tex. App.—El Paso
    2003, no pet.).
    When, as here, the parents do not file an agreed parenting plan, the trial
    court may render an order appointing the parents joint managing conservators only
    if the appointment is in the best interest of the child. 
    Id. § 153.134(a).
    In making its
    determination, the trial court is to consider the following factors:
    (1) whether the physical, psychological, or emotional needs and
    development of the child will benefit from the appointment of joint
    managing conservators;
    (2) the ability of the parents to give first priority to the welfare of the
    child and reach shared decisions in the child’s best interest;
    (3) whether each parent can encourage and accept a positive
    relationship between the child and the other parent;
    (4) whether both parents participated in child rearing before the filing
    of the suit;
    (5) the geographical proximity of the parents’ residences;
    (6) if the child is 12 years of age or older, the child’s preference, if
    any, regarding the person to have the exclusive right to designate the
    primary residence of the child; and
    (7) any other relevant factor.
    
    Id. A finding
    of a history of family violence involving at least one of the parents of
    a child removes the presumption that a joint managing conservatorship is in the
    best interest of the child. 
    Id. § 153.131(b).
    The record establishes that Ricky and Isis were married in June 2002, and
    11
    R.B. was born in October 2002. Isis testified that she and Rickey stopped living
    together in April 2011, apparently when R.B. was eight years old. Isis and R.B.
    lived in Florida until April 9, 2012, when they moved to Texas. Rickey continued
    to live and work in Florida. Isis requested a divorce on the basis of irreconcilable
    differences and an award of $3,000 as “a fair and equitable division of the
    community property and debts.” There is no evidence that Rickey has any
    continuing relationship with either Isis or R.B., and no evidence of R.B.’s
    relationship with either parent. There is also no evidence of R.B.’s physical health
    or emotional well-being. Nor is there any evidence of family violence, and at the
    time Isis sought the divorce from Rickey, she represented that there were no
    protective orders against either of them, and that neither had asked for one.
    Isis also testified that one morning in December 2012, as she prepared to go
    to work, she discovered that the car Rickey had provided her was missing and,
    when she reported it stolen, she was informed by the police that the car had been
    repossessed because Rickey stopped making payments on it. Isis argues that the
    trial court could have presumed that Isis, as a single mother without financial
    support from Rickey, relied on the car to get to work, to take R.B. to school, and
    for transportation necessary for doctor’s appointments, grocery shopping, and other
    errands. Isis also argues that Rickey declined to attend the hearing to determine
    conservatorship and instead left it to the trial court to decide. Isis contends the
    evidence demonstrates that R.B.’s physical health or emotional development would
    be harmed by Rickey’s appointment as conservator and that this evidence is
    sufficient to overcome the presumption on which Rickey relies.
    Neither party specifically discusses the statutory factors the trial court is to
    consider in determining whether joint conservatorship is in the child’s best interest.
    From our review of the record, we find no evidence concerning whether R.B.
    12
    would benefit from joint managing conservatorship, whether Isis and Rickey could
    cooperate in making decisions for R.B., or whether either parent could promote a
    positive relationship with the other parent. Because Isis testified that she and
    Rickey lived together until 2011, there is some evidence that both parents
    participated in raising the child for at least eight years before Isis filed for divorce.
    But there is no evidence that Rickey has attempted to maintain any kind of
    relationship with R.B. after R.B. and Isis moved to Texas, and the trial court could
    have determined that Isis and Rickey no longer communicate with each other,
    based on Isis’s testimony that she learned from the police, rather than Rickey, that
    Rickey was no longer making payments on the car.
    Moreover, the fact that Rickey resides in Florida, several states away from
    Texas, is an important factor to consider in evaluating whether joint
    conservatorship is in the best interest of the child. See In re Marriage of Bertram,
    
    981 S.W.2d 820
    , 825 (Tex. App.—Texarkana 1998, no pet.). Additionally, the fact
    that Rickey waived service and chose not to participate in the divorce proceedings
    in which conservatorship, as well as child support and other matters significant to
    the child’s well-being, is some evidence that Rickey has little interest in
    maintaining any relationship with R.B. Likewise, Rickey’s willingness to leave
    Isis, a single mother caring for her child on an income of $600 per month, without
    a means of transportation to get to work or to provide for the child’s needs, is also
    some evidence that Rickey has little concern for R.B.’s welfare.
    Accordingly, we conclude that there is some evidence to overcome the
    presumption that joint conservatorship is in the child’s best interest, and therefore
    the trial court did not abuse its discretion in awarding Isis sole conservatorship of
    R.B. See In re Marriage of Robinson, 
    16 S.W.3d 451
    , 456 (Tex. App.—Waco
    2000, no pet.) (holding that more than a scintilla of evidence existed to support the
    13
    finding that appointing father sole managing conservator was in the child’s best
    interest, thus also rebutting the presumption in favor of appointing the parents as
    joint managing conservators). We therefore overrule Rickey’s second issue.
    B.     The Validity of the Final Decree of Divorce
    In his third and final issue, Rickey asserts that the divorce decree is
    unintelligible and void. According to Rickey, the decree in this case was generated
    as a form document used in pro se divorces, and the form includes “Parenting Plan
    Exhibits” that are neither signed nor initialed by the trial court. Additionally,
    Rickey complains the trial court left blank the boxes to be checked to indicate
    which “exhibits” were included in the parenting plan—an omission Rickey
    contends is critical. Rickey relies on the following portion of the judgment:
    VI. Parenting Plan:
    The Court FINDS that the attached orders found in the Parenting Plan
    Exhibits are in the best interest of the children, and makes the
    following orders regarding custody, visitation, child support, and
    health insurance, as included in this section and the attached Parenting
    Plan Exhibits.
    ...
    Parenting Plan Exhibits – The following Exhibits are attached to this
    Decree of Divorce and are made a part of this Decree for all purposes.
    □ Exhibit: Conservatorship (Custody) Order
    □ Exhibit: Rights and Duties Order
    □ Exhibit: Possession and Access (Visitation) Order
    □ Exhibit: Child Support Order
    □ Exhibit: Medical Support Order
    □ Exhibit: Family Information
    As noted, none of the boxes are checked. Several pages later, just above where the
    trial court is to sign, the judgment states that “[a]ny orders requested that do not
    14
    appear above are denied.”
    Rickey asserts that because none of the above boxes were checked, the
    parenting plan orders attached to the divorce decree were never incorporated, and
    the only reasonable interpretation of the decree is that the trial court denied all of
    the relief requested in the parenting plan. Consequently, Rickey urges, the
    judgment is internally inconsistent, unintelligible, and fails to incorporate by
    reference the parenting plan. See Stewart v. USA Custom Paint & Body Shop, Inc.,
    
    870 S.W.2d 18
    , 20 (Tex. 1994) (“A judgment must be sufficiently definite and
    certain to define and protect the rights of all litigants, or it should provide a definite
    means of ascertaining such rights, to the end that ministerial officers can carry the
    judgment into execution without ascertainment of facts not therein stated.”); see
    also Am. Cas. & Life Ins. Co. v. Boyd, 
    394 S.W.2d 685
    , 688 (Tex. Civ. App.—
    Tyler 1965, no writ) (holding that an order purporting to both grant and deny a
    motion to dismiss was “utterly unintelligible on its face” and therefore of no legal
    force and effect). Further, Rickey argues that omission of the parenting plan leaves
    major and essential issues of the divorce wholly unresolved, citing Texas Family
    Code section 6.406 (providing that a suit for dissolution of a marriage must include
    a suit affecting the parent-child relationship). We disagree with Rickey’s
    characterization of the trial court’s order.
    Each of the exhibits to the parenting plan are actually attached to the decree
    and have been completed to reflect the trial court’s orders on each, including the
    orders on conservatorship and child support challenged in Rickey’s first and
    second issues. Further, the parenting-plan portion of the decree does not instruct
    that some or all of the boxes must be checked for the orders to be effective. The
    decree does, however, reflect that “[t]he Court finds that the attached orders found
    in the Parenting Plan Exhibits are in the best interest of the children” and “are
    15
    attached to this Decree of Divorce and are made a part of this Decree for all
    purposes.” (emphasis added). Consequently, the parenting plan exhibits attached to
    the divorce decree are incorporated for all purposes, are sufficiently definite and
    certain, and are neither internally inconsistent nor unintelligible such that major
    and essential issues relating to the divorce are left unresolved. See Shanks v.
    Treadway, 
    110 S.W.3d 444
    , 447 (Tex. 2003) (divorce decrees should be construed
    as a whole to harmonize and give effect to the entire decree). We therefore
    overrule Rickey’s third issue.
    CONCLUSION
    Rickey has demonstrated error on the face of the record concerning the trial
    court’s order requiring Rickey to pay child support of $800 per month, and we
    therefore reverse that portion of the trial court’s final decree of divorce and remand
    for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. We affirm the remainder of
    the judgment.
    /s/    Ken Wise
    Justice
    Panel consists of Chief Justice Frost and Justices Jamison and Wise.
    16
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 14-13-00536-CV

Citation Numbers: 444 S.W.3d 147, 2014 Tex. App. LEXIS 9147

Judges: Frost, Jamison, Wise

Filed Date: 8/19/2014

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 10/19/2024

Authorities (23)

Osteen v. Osteen , 2001 Tex. App. LEXIS 898 ( 2001 )

Shanks v. Treadway , 46 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 840 ( 2003 )

Matter of Marriage of Bertram , 1998 Tex. App. LEXIS 6448 ( 1998 )

McKnight v. Trogdon-McKnight , 2004 Tex. App. LEXIS 2798 ( 2004 )

Pleasant Glade Assembly of God v. Schubert , 51 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 1086 ( 2008 )

Gold v. Gold , 47 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 1178 ( 2004 )

Texaco, Inc. v. Central Power & Light Co. , 925 S.W.2d 586 ( 1996 )

Flores v. H.E. Butt Grocery Co. , 1990 Tex. App. LEXIS 2997 ( 1990 )

Stewart v. USA Custom Paint & Body Shop, Inc. , 37 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 490 ( 1994 )

Stubbs v. Stubbs , 28 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 270 ( 1985 )

Gonzalez v. Gonzalez , 2011 Tex. App. LEXIS 634 ( 2011 )

In Re RTK , 324 S.W.3d 896 ( 2010 )

In Re Marriage of Robinson , 2000 Tex. App. LEXIS 2129 ( 2000 )

Lide v. Lide , 2003 Tex. App. LEXIS 5479 ( 2003 )

American Casualty and Life Insurance Co. v. Boyd , 1965 Tex. App. LEXIS 2069 ( 1965 )

Tramco Enterprises, Inc. v. Independent American Savings ... , 1987 Tex. App. LEXIS 8877 ( 1987 )

Classic Promotions, Inc. v. Shafer , 1993 Tex. App. LEXIS 329 ( 1993 )

Norman Communications v. Texas Eastman Co. , 41 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 83 ( 1997 )

Spera v. Fleming, Hovenkamp & Grayson, P.C. , 2000 Tex. App. LEXIS 5150 ( 2000 )

Campsey v. Campsey , 2003 Tex. App. LEXIS 5460 ( 2003 )

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