Opinion ID: 1652117
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: whether the chancellor's award of child support and maintenance was an abuse of discretion.

Text: ¶ 23. Joseph contends that the chancellor abused his discretion by awarding child support in excess of the guidelines set forth in Miss.Code Ann. § 43-19-101(2) without making a written or specific finding on the record that the application of the guidelines would be unjust or inappropriate. Juanita, however, argues that the chancellor did not abuse his discretion by awarding child support slightly in excess of the guidelines and that the chancellor rebutted the presumption that an award pursuant to the guidelines was appropriate. ¶ 24. Miss.Code Ann. § 43-19-101 sets forth a set of statutory guidelines to aid in the awarding of child support. See Miss. Code Ann. § 43-19-101 (1993). Miss.Code Ann. § 43-19-101(1) provides that the guidelines shall be a rebuttable presumption in all judicial or administrative proceedings regarding the awarding or modifying of child support awards in this state. Miss.Code Ann. § 43-19-101(1) (1993). For an award supporting two children, this section uses as the guideline 20% of the payor's adjusted gross income. Miss.Code Ann. § 43-19-101(1) (1993). Furthermore, Miss.Code Ann. § 43-19-101(2) provides that the guidelines shall apply unless the judicial or administrative body awarding or modifying the child support award makes a written finding or specific finding on the record that the application of the guidelines would be unjust or inappropriate in a particular case. Miss. Code Ann. § 43-19-101(2) (1993). ¶ 25. This Court has held that [a]n award of child support is within the chancellor's discretion and will not be disturbed by this Court unless the chancellor was manifestly in error in his finding of fact and manifestly abused his discretion. McEachern v. McEachern, 605 So.2d 809, 814 (Miss.1992) (citing Smith v. Smith, 585 So.2d 750, 753 (Miss.1991); Powers v. Powers, 568 So.2d 255, 257-58 (Miss.1990)). The McEachern Court further observed that [a]lthough we have child support guidelines in our Code ... they are mere guidelines and do not control the chancellor's award of child support. McEachern, 605 So.2d at 814 (citing Thurman v. Thurman, 559 So.2d 1014, 1017-18 (Miss.1990)). The rebuttable presumption of the appropriateness of an award pursuant to these guidelines may be overcome by an award or modification of child support that does not comply with the guidelines or by making a written finding on the record that the application of the guidelines would be unjust or inappropriate in a particular case. McEachern, 605 So.2d at 814 (citing Thurman, 559 So.2d at 1017). ¶ 26. In the case sub judice, the chancellor awarded $750 per month in child support and additionally ordered Joseph to maintain health and dental insurance on the two children. Thus, the total child support contribution by Joseph would be $964.47 per month. In awarding this amount of child support, the chancellor made the following findings: The Court is aware that [the] child support is 24.23% of the Husband's net income, an amount which slightly exceeds the statutory guidelines. Considering that the 4.23% variance is only $168, which is less than the cost of the health insurance, and the fact that the Husband is being allowed to claim one of the children as a tax deduction, the Court feels that this variance is justified in light of the total circumstances of the parties. The Court particularly notes the fact that the Husband, after he fulfills his monthly support obligation, will still have the same or more money per month to satisfy his reasonable monthly expenses and obligations than the Wife will have to fulfill the monthly obligations of herself and two children. Thus, we find that the chancellor made written findings on the record sufficient to rebut the presumption that the guidelines are appropriate and to justify the slight variance from the guidelines. Therefore, finding no abuse in the chancellor's discretion, we hold that the chancellor did not err, and this issue is without merit.