DocketNumber: No. 06CA35.
Citation Numbers: 2007 Ohio 3709
Judges: WILLIAM H. HARSHA, Judge.
Filed Date: 7/17/2007
Status: Precedential
Modified Date: 4/17/2021
{¶ 2} Mr. Albright also argues that the court should have found Lisa M. Albright voluntarily underemployed, attributed additional income to her for child support calculation purposes, and rejected her request for spousal support, because she works part-time. Ms. Albright earns more annually working part-time than she would working full-time at minimum wage and there is no evidence that she could earn more than minimum wage through full-time employment. Therefore, the court did not abuse its discretion when it refused to conclude that she was voluntarily underemployed and declined to attribute additional income to her. Nor did it err in awarding her spousal support simply because she was working only part-time. Thus, we affirm the trial court's judgment.
{¶ 4} Following a trial in September 2006, the trial court awarded Ms. Albright a divorce and named her the residential parent and legal custodian of the parties' minor children. The court granted Mr. Albright standard visitation privileges and ordered him to pay $154.39 per week plus poundage in child support. Additionally, the court ordered Mr. Albright to pay Ms. Albright $300.00 per month *Page 3 in spousal support for a two year period or until Ms. Albright remarried or cohabitated with another male. The court awarded each party the personal property in their possession, equally divided Mr. Albright's retirement account, and ordered Mr. Albright to pay the bulk of the parties' three outstanding debts.
I. The Trial Court erred in ordering the Plaintiff to pay child support in an amount that does not take into account the amount of alimony that the Plaintiff was ordered to pay the Defendant.
II. The Trial Court erred in ordering the Plaintiff to pay child support in an amount that does not take into account the extended parenting time that the Plaintiff was granted with the parties' minor children.
III. The Trial Court erred in ordering the Plaintiff to pay spousal support and child support where the relevant evidence suggests that the Defendant is voluntarily underemployed.
{¶ 7} R.C.
{¶ 9} Line 10 of the R.C.
{¶ 10} As we stated in State ex rel. Athens Cty. Child SupportEnforcement Agency v. Patel, Athens App. No. 05CA20,
R.C.
3119.05 (B) and line ten of R.C.3119.022 refers to amounts "paid" or "actually paid" in spousal support. Had the General Assembly only intended for the amount of "court-ordered" support to be deducted, it would have stopped there and not included in the statute the words "paid" or "actually paid." It is axiomatic that statutes mean what they say, State v. McPherson (2001),142 Ohio App.3d 274 ,280 ,755 N.E.2d 426 ; Lucas Cty. Auditor v. Ohio Bur. of Emp. Serv. (1997),122 Ohio App.3d 237 ,246 ,701 N.E.2d 703 ; Woods v. Farmers Ins. of Columbus, Inc. (1995),106 Ohio App.3d 389 ,394 ,666 N.E.2d 283 , and the statutes at issue here allow for the deduction of spousal support that is paid.
{¶ 11} Our view is also consistent with the Fifth District Court of Appeals' holding in Tuscarawas Cty. Child Support Enforcement Agency v.McCamant, Tuscarawas App. No. 2003AP060049,
{¶ 12} Because Mr. Albright had not yet paid any spousal support when the child support worksheet was completed, the trial court correctly declined to include the ordered spousal support in the calculation. The first assignment of error is overruled.
{¶ 14} R.C.
{¶ 15} Moreover, Mr. Albright did not introduce any evidence that the guidelines fail to consider visitation when calculating standard support payments. The court's child support award is not arbitrary, unreasonable or unconscionable. Mr. Albright's second assignment of error is meritless.
{¶ 17} "* * *[W]hether a parent is voluntarily (i.e. intentionally) unemployed or voluntarily underemployed is a question of fact for the trial court. Absent an abuse of discretion that factual determination will not be disturbed on appeal." Rock v. Cabral (1993),
{¶ 18} Mr. Albright contends that the evidence presented at trial established that both parties earned high school diplomas and, throughout the marriage, Ms. Albright had almost always maintained full-time employment. However, since the parties' separation, Ms. Albright has been working approximately half-time and collecting child support from Mr. Albright. Based on this evidence, Mr. Albright contends that the court abused its discretion by not finding Ms. Albright voluntarily underemployed, declining to modify the child support calculation to reflect this voluntary underemployment, and by awarding spousal support even though Ms. Albright has chosen to work part-time. We disagree.
{¶ 19} Ms. Albright testified that she earns her income by cleaning homes and offices on a weekly, bi-weekly, or as-needed basis, depending on the job. She is paid on a per job basis and spends approximately twenty-one hours per week on these jobs. According to Mr. Albright's testimony, Ms. Albright previously worked the equivalent of a full-time job when she cleaned and worked as an assistant in a dental office. However, after Ms. Albright was dismissed from the job at the dental office, she continued the cleaning jobs but did not seek additional employment. Before she held that job, Ms. Albright worked at various places including Tipton's Bakery, McDonalds, Cabletron, and Ames Department Store. The parties apparently agreed that Ms. Albright now earns approximately $12,000 per year through her various cleaning jobs. *Page 9
{¶ 20} In calculating the child support, the trial court listed Ms. Albright's gross income from employment as $13,000 per year.1 As she notes in her brief, if Ms. Albright worked full-time (forty hours per week and fifty-two weeks per year) at the September 2006 minimum wage of $5.15 per hour, she would have earned only $10,712 per year. There is no evidence in the record that Ms. Albright could have earned more than minimum wage at a full-time position or that she refused cleaning jobs in an attempt to work less hours. Therefore, we find that the trial court did not abuse its discretion by declining to find that Ms. Albright was underemployed or by awarding her spousal support simply because she only worked part-time.
{¶ 21} Mr. Albright's third assignment of error is overruled.
*Page 10JUDGMENT AFFIRMED.
The Court finds there were reasonable grounds for this appeal.
It is ordered that a special mandate issue out of this Court directing the Lawrence County Common Pleas Court to carry this judgment into execution.
Any stay previously granted by this Court is hereby terminated as of the date of this entry.
A certified copy of this entry shall constitute the mandate pursuant to Rule 27 of the Rules of Appellate Procedure. Exceptions.
Abele, J. Kline, J.: Concur in Judgment and Opinion.
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