Case Name: Donald TAYLOR, Jr., Appellant, v. Terrie E. BONSALL, f/k/a Terrie E. Taylor, Appellee
Court: Florida District Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 2004-06-04
Citations: 875 So. 2d 705
Docket Number: No. 5D02-3046
Parties: Donald TAYLOR, Jr., Appellant, v. Terrie E. BONSALL, f/k/a Terrie E. Taylor, Appellee.
Judges: PETERSON, J., concurs in part with opinion.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 875
Pages: 705–712

Head Matter:
Donald TAYLOR, Jr., Appellant, v. Terrie E. BONSALL, f/k/a Terrie E. Taylor, Appellee.
No. 5D02-3046.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fifth District.
June 4, 2004.
Steven J. Guardiano, Daytona Beach, and Eric K. Neitzke of Eric K. Neitzke, P.A., Daytona Beach, for Appellant.
Gary E. Massey of Gary E. Massey, P.A., Altamonte Springs, for Appellee.

Opinion:
THOMPSON, J.
Donald Taylor, Jr. ("father") appeals an order granting Terrie Bonsall's ("mother") motion for modification of the parties' final judgment of dissolution by extending his obligation to pay child support past their daughter's eighteenth birthday. The father argues that under a stipulation between himself and the mother, he would be responsible for extended child support only if the court entered such an order prior to the child's reaching age eighteen. No order extending the father's obligation was entered before the child's eighteenth birthday. Therefore, he concludes the mother and daughter must file a separate legal action for support. We agree.
FACTS
The mother and father were married on 29 December 1979, and had two children: Sterling Taylor, born on 4 July 1982, and Devon Taylor, born on 28 September 1983. The final judgment of dissolution, which was rendered on 24 April 1989, approved and incorporated the parties' marital settlement agreement. In the settlement agreement, the mother was given primary residential custody of the two children, and the father was required to pay child support in the amount of $260 per month per child. This amount was approximately $120 per month over the guidelines amount, and the father also agreed to pay up to $50 per month for Devon's medications. The settlement agreement provided that the father's child support obligation would end "as each child attains the age of eighteen (18), marries, becomes self-supporting, enters the military service or departs this life, whichever event shall occur first." Neither the settlement agreement nor the final judgment contained any reference to Devon's mental or physical incapacity, although the parties knew she had limited physical and mental abilities.
The final judgment was amended by stipulation in 1995. In the stipulation, the parties agreed to increase the father's child support to $750 per month total for both children. The stipulation was approved and incorporated in an amended final judgment rendered on 8 August 1995. The stipulation included the following paragraph:
7. This child support obligation shall cease upon the eighteenth birthday of the minor children (on July 4, 2000, with regard to Sterling Brittany Taylor, and on September 28, 2001 with regard to Devon O'Neal Taylor), unless Petitioner shall obtain an order of the court prior to those dates to extend the child support obligation, or upon the children's marriage, death, entrance into military service, or becoming self-supporting, whichever comes first.
(Emphasis supplied.)
At the time of the 1989 final judgment of dissolution and the 1995 stipulation, both parties were aware that Devon was suffering an irreversible impairment of her brain function. The damage was caused when she suffered a seizure at about the age of sixteen or eighteen months. Devon is not totally incapacitated: testimony indicates that she dresses herself, brushes her teeth, and writes well enough to communicate. She is also talented at needlepoint. While the parties expect Devon to improve to a degree, they do not expect her to lead a normal, independent life. There has been no material change in Devon's condition since the amended final judgment.
Before Devon turned age eighteen, the mother petitioned for modification of Devon's child support, asking the court to extend it beyond her majority. However, the trial court did not render its order granting the mother's petition for modification until nearly a year after Devon turned eighteen, missing the cut-off date of 28 September 2001, which was specified in the stipulation. The trial court found that a literal reading of paragraph seven of the stipulation would result in a forfeiture of Devon's right to claim support as a dependent adult under section 743.07, Florida Statutes, because no order of extension was entered prior to Devon's eighteenth birthday. The court ruled that the order related back to the date the mother filed the petition for modification of Devon's child support. Thus, the court found that paragraph seven did not preclude the extension of child support, citing Ruiz v. Ruiz, 783 So.2d 361 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001) and distinguishing Brown v. Brown, 714 So.2d 475 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998). The court ordered the father "to continue to contribute support" for Devon after her eighteenth birthday pursuant to section 743.07, Florida Statutes. Because neither party had presented either evidence or argument as to the amount of support the father should pay, the court ordered the parties to attempt to resolve the amount amicably and failing that, to schedule a hearing for that purpose. In the interim, the father's obligation would remain the same as that stated in the stipulation. The court reserved jurisdiction to determine any ar-rearage owed by the father and to rule on the mother's attorney's fee request.
ANALYSIS
Before beginning discussion of the issue in this case, perhaps it is best to discuss what this case is not about. First, both parents testified to their continuing commitment to support Devon. Each recognized Devon's limited abilities and their obligation to support her. The father testified that he had agreed to pay more than the child support guidelines amount to support Devon because he knew she had special needs. He also testified that he attempted to help Devon create a needlepoint business to allow her to generate income, but that the mother would not cooperate. The father had also tried to establish a trust for Devon, but again, the mother would not cooperate. The mother, through counsel, agreed that she had a moral and a legal obligation to continue to support Devon. Thus, we are not concerned with parents who are attempting to avoid their obligation to support their child. The issue is whether the court presiding over the dissolution could enforce the stipulation of the parties, which required that an order modifying the final judgment to support Devon be entered before her eighteenth birthday, or whether an independent action must be filed.
First, both parents have a legal obligation to support Devon past her eighteenth birthday because she is dependent and will remain so. Section 743.07(2), Florida Statutes, provides that a court of competent jurisdiction can require parents to support a dependent child past the age of eighteen. The father argues that the trial court did not have jurisdiction to modify the final judgment because once Devon turned eighteen, an independent action was required to be filed, separate from the dissolution action, to determine the parents' support obligations for their dependent adult child. See Perla v. Perla 58 So.2d 689 (Fla.1952) ("Generally, the obligation of a parent to support a child ceases when the child reaches majority, but an exception arises when the child is, from physical or mental deficiencies, unable to support himself'); Hastings v. Hastings, 841 So.2d 484 (Fla. 3d DCA 2003) (same). Further, he argues that since both parties have a legal obligation to support the child, simply modifying the final judgment to enlarge the time he has to support Devon does not adjudicate the mother's responsibility. More important, he argues, the trial court could not adequately determine the father's financial obligation without considering the mother's finances and ability to pay child support.
The father relies upon this court's opinion in Brown to support his contention. In Brown this court stated:
Where, as here, the father has fulfilled his child support obligation as adjudicated in the divorce decree, an independent action must be brought to adjudicate the father's support obligation for an adult dependent child.
Id. at 477. The father argues that he fulfilled his previously adjudicated child support obligation because the amended judgment ordered support "until the minor children reach the age of eighteen, marry, die or become self-supporting." The father acknowledges that in footnote two of the Brown decision, we stated that the dissolution court would be the proper forum to enforce or modify a child support order for an adult dependent child under certain circumstances. Brown, 714 So.2d at 477, n. 2. He points out, however, that this occurs only "where the dissolution court, in the original divorce decree, adjudicated support for the child to extend beyond the age of majority." Id. The father concludes that since no judgment requiring continued support was entered before Devon became eighteen, the order modifying the final judgment was improvidently entered.
We find Brown persuasive. In Brown, the judgment incorporated the parties' separation and property settlement agreement, which provided that the father pay support for the minor child until her twenty-first birthday, the age of majority at that time. The mother petitioned for modification, alleging that the child was mentally handicapped, having been diagnosed with cerebral palsy and mental retardation prior to the entry of the divorce decree. At the time of the mother's petition, the child was twenty-six years old. This court affirmed the trial court's dismissal of the petition stating the trial court's jurisdiction to modify the father's support ended when the child turned twenty-one, as stated in the divorce decree. We noted, however, that the adult dependent child still could file an independent action for support. In the instant case, the trial court found that Brown had no application because the petition to extend child support in Brown was not filed until after the dependent child's majority, unlike the situation in this case where the petition was filed before the child reached eighteen.
The trial court's attempt to distinguish the facts in Brown does not consider all of the facts in the case. It was not just the fact that the petition was filed after the child reached the age of majority that led to the dismissal in Brown. Pursuant to the specific terms of the divorce decree, the father's support obligation, "as adjudicated in the divorce decree," ended before the filing of the petition. Brown, 714 So.2d at 477. More particularly, in Brown, the following facts led to the conclusion that the father had fulfilled his child support obligations: (1) the original decree did not adjudicate support for the child beyond the age of majority, (2) the parties' settlement agreement, which had been incorporated into the final decree, specifically stated that the support obligation would terminate when the child reached twenty-one, and (3) no petition for modification or extension was filed prior to the child's reaching majority. Similarly, in this case: (1) the original decree did not adjudicate support for Devon beyond the age of majority, (2) the parties' 1995 stipulation, which was adopted by the court, specifically stated that father's support obligation would end on Devon's eighteenth birthday, unless an order of extension was obtained before that date, and (3) no order of extension was obtained prior to Devon's eighteenth birthday. The parties' stipulation required an actual order extending support before Devon's eighteenth birthday. But for the stipulation, the trial court would have had jurisdiction to extend Devon's support beyond her eighteenth birthday because the petition was filed prior to that date.
The language in Ruiz relied upon by the trial court is inapplicable given the circumstances of this case. In Ruiz, the parties' settlement agreement expressly recognized that the minor child was handicapped and "totally non-communicative." Before the child reached the age of majority, the custodial father petitioned for continued support of the child beyond the age of majority. The order was not granted until after the child turned eighteen and based on Brown, the mother argued that the court lacked jurisdiction to enter the order. This court held that the trial court properly granted post-majority support, holding that this child, unlike the child in Brown, had been "effectively adjudicated dependent" prior to reaching age eighteen.
In conclusion, we hold Brown is applicable and that a separate action must be filed by the child joined by her mother. These parties bargained for the stipulation and both were represented by counsel and understood the import of that language. The father testified that had the mother obtained an order extending support before Devon's eighteenth birthday, he could have set up a trust for her that would have been advantageous for him. The father testified, without contradiction, that he approached the mother with options, and the mother either told him not to make the arrangements or that she would get back to him arid never did. This is sufficient consideration for the stipulation which required that an order modifying child support be entered before the child reachéd eighteen. We do not find that it is viola- tive of public policy to require the parties to honor their stipulation. See DePoorter v. DePoorter, 509 So.2d 1141, 1144 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987). Further, we recognize that the right to support for an adult dependent child belongs to the child and not the parent. Thus, the child and the mother can file a separate action for support through her mother. Brown, 714 So.2d at 477.
REVERSED.
PETERSON, J., concurs in part with opinion.
TORPY, J., dissents with opinion.
. During a turbulent period in the mother's life, Devon lived with the father and subsequently returned to live with the mother.
. 743.07 Rights, privileges, and obligations of persons 18 years of age or older.
(1) The disability of nonage is hereby removed for all persons in this state who are 18 years of age or older, and they shall enjoy and suffer the rights, privileges, and obligations of all persons 21 years of age or older, except as otherwise excluded by the State Constitution immediately preceding the effective date of this section and except as otherwise provided in the Beverage Law.
(2) This section shall not prohibit any court of competent jurisdiction from requiring support for a dependent person beyond the age of 18 years when such dependency is because of a mental or physical incapacity which began prior to such person reaching majority.. .
. This court also stated, however, "[m]ore-over, the instant petition by the father was filed before that time. The court's order in respect to that petition relates back to the date of filing the petition." Ruiz, 783 So.2d at 362. This statement appears to be dictum in the Ruiz case. Nonetheless, while it is true that the relief granted in the order "relates back" to the filing of the petition, it is not clear how the "date" of the order would "relate back" to the filing of the petition such that it could be said that the order was "obtained" on the date the petition was filed.