Opinion ID: 2356324
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Calculation of Net Income

Text: [¶ 19] Father claims the district court erred by subtracting certain payroll deductions from Mother's income to calculate her net income. The three contested deductions are: family health insurance ($323); Aflac disability insurance premium ($77); and Flex plan contribution to pay for unreimbursed medical costs, similar to a Health Savings Account ($100). [¶ 20] To determine whether the deductions were proper, we must interpret the definition of net income in Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 20-2-303(a)(iii) (LexisNexis 2009): Net income means income as defined in paragraph (ii) of this subsection less personal income taxes, social security deductions, cost of dependent health care coverage for all dependent children, actual payments being made under preexisting support orders for current support of other children, other court-ordered support obligations currently being paid and mandatory pension deductions. [¶ 21] Statutory construction is a matter of law for the court. In interpreting statutes, our goal is to ascertain the legislature's intent. We consider first whether the statutory language is clear or ambiguous. A statute is clear and unambiguous if its wording is such that reasonable persons are able to agree on its meaning with consistency and predictability. SLB v. JEO (In re ANO), 2006 WY 74, ¶ 8, 136 P.3d 797, 800 (Wyo. 2006), quoting SLJ v. Dep't of Family Servs., 2005 WY 3, ¶ 20, 104 P.3d 74, 80 (Wyo.2005). When a statute is clear and unambiguous, we give effect to the plain and ordinary meaning of the words. Id. [¶ 22] Father argues that the district court should not have deducted Mother's health insurance costs because he was providing health insurance for their children. There was a significant amount of testimony about dependent health insurance at the hearing. Father and his current wife testified they had procured insurance for the children through the State of Montana Healthy Kids Insurance Plan, which was a state assisted plan that did not cost anything. Father testified that he believed the coverage was better than the insurance Mother provided. Mother testified that she had continued to cover the children through the insurance provided by her employer. She stated that it did not cost any more to insure all four of her children than if she just insured her two younger children. [¶ 23] The statutory definition of net income allows a deduction for the costs of dependent health care coverage for all dependent children. The statute does not differentiate between the children for whom support is sought and other dependent children and specifically allows the deduction for health care coverage for all dependent children. Under the clear language of the statute, Mother was entitled to the deduction regardless of whether Father was providing health insurance for their children or not. The district court correctly deducted that amount from her income. [2] [¶ 24] In contrast, neither the Aflac disability premium nor the flex plan contribution is listed as an allowable deduction. [T]he omission of words from a statute is considered to be an intentional act by the legislature and we will not read words into a statute when the legislature has chosen not to include them. Wyo. Med. Ctr., Inc. v. Wyo. Ins. Guar. Ass'n, 2010 WY 21, ¶ 38, 225 P.3d 1061, 1070 (Wyo.2010), citing Kennedy Oil v. Dep't of Revenue, 2008 WY 154, ¶ 14, 205 P.3d 999, 1004 (Wyo.2008). Given the legislature was very precise in stating the allowable deductions and did not include disability insurance premiums or flex plan contributions, it was error for the district court to deduct those amounts in calculating Mother's net income. [¶ 25] Removing the improper $177 in deductions, results in a net income of $3,732 for Mother. Utilizing the income imputed to Father by the district court of $2,829, the parties' total net income was $6,561. Applying the guidelines for two children, the presumptive child support amount is $1,490. Dividing this total between the parents in proportion to the net income of each, we calculate Mother's child support obligation as $849. The district court calculated Mother's support obligation as $817, [3] resulting in a $32 difference between the proper amount and the district court's amount. This small difference is not prejudicial and does not require reversal of the order. As we have in other cases, we choose to ignore the small discrepancy. See, e.g., Dowdy v. Dowdy, 864 P.2d 439, 442 (Wyo. 1993); Shelhamer v. Shelhamer, 2006 WY 83, ¶ 22, 138 P.3d 665, 675 (Wyo.2006) (ignoring errors that were de minimus and harmless). Moreover, these errors did not affect the ultimate decision in this case. The district court concluded that deviation from the presumptive amount was warranted, and we have already stated that the district court did not abuse its discretion in allowing that deviation. [¶ 26] Affirmed.