Opinion ID: 2452036
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Prospective Support

Text: Appellant challenges the trial court's award for prospective support. As mentioned, the trial court referred to the 1991 Child Support Chart and found that within appellant's income bracket, the monthly support award for one dependent would be 13% of appellant's salary. The trial court further found that 13% was excessive and instead ordered payments of $3,500 a month, approximately half the amount payable under the chart for appellant's earnings. The arguments on this point are conclusory and we are given no supporting authority. Arkansas Code Ann. § 9-12-312 (1987) states that the amount listed in the most recent family support chart is a rebuttable presumption for the award of child support. Appellant has failed to rebut and we are unpersuaded by the argument. Finally, appellant urges that the award of an attorney's fee of $40,000 was an abuse ot the courts discretion. He recognizes that the court has broad discretion to award attorney's fees, Wilson v. Wilson, 294 Ark. 194, 741 S.W.2d 640 (1987), but maintains that the award is excessive. We stated our rule in Lytle v. Lytle, 266 Ark. 124, 583 S.W.2d 1 (1979): Appellant objects to the attorney's fee allowed in this case on two bases. First, he says there is absolutely nothing in the record to afford an objective standard on which the trial court could assess and determine the amount of the fee, and urges that we treat fees arrived at in such a haphazard fashion from a subjective viewpoint by the chancellor as erroneous. We decline to accept this invitation. We have repeatedly held that the award of attorney's fees in divorce cases is a matter lying within the sound judicial discretion of the chancellor, the exercise of which will not be disturbed on appeal in the absence of its abuse. Unless appellant has demonstrated that the amount of fees allowed was excessive, we will affirm. [Cites omitted.] Appellant has not demonstrated how the fee is excessive and, hence, we will not look beyond the chancellor's award. Affirmed as modified.