Opinion ID: 1107716
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: whether the chancellor erred in awarding rhonda monthly child support in the amount of $2,500.

Text: ¶ 12. James next contends that the chancellor failed to make findings to support his deviation from the child support guidelines as required by Miss.Code Ann. § 43-19-101 (Rev.2004) and Chesney v. Chesney, 910 So.2d 1057 (Miss.2005). According to Miss.Code Ann. § 43-19-101: (1) The following child support award guidelines shall be a rebuttable presumption in all judicial or administrative proceedings regarding the awarding or modifying of child support awards in this state: Number Of Percentage Of Adjusted Children Gross Income That Should Due Support Be Awarded For Support 1 14% 2 20% 3 22% 4 24% 5 or more 26% (2) The guidelines provided for in subsection (1) of this section 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 as determined under the criteria specified in Section 43-19-103. . . . . (4) In cases in which the adjusted gross income as defined in this section is more than Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) or less than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), the court shall make a written finding in the record as to whether or not the application of the guidelines established in this section is reasonable. ¶ 13. The chancery court, in its findings of fact and conclusions of law, merely stated [t]he Court finds that based on [James]'s income, the needs of the children and their related expenses, the statutory guidelines should not apply. Subsection (4) of section 43-19-101 no doubt applies, since James's adjusted gross income was unquestionably well above $50,000; however, the chancellor's findings in today's case fell short of subsection (4)'s requirement that the court shall make a written finding in the record as to whether or not the application of the guidelines established in this section is reasonable. Likewise, subsection (4) must be read in conjunction with subsection (2); therefore, in making this finding of the inapplicability of the statutory guidelines, the chancellor failed to fully comply with Miss.Code Ann. § 43-19-101(2) by making a written finding or specific finding on the record that the application of the guidelines would be unjust or inappropriate in a particular case as determined under the criteria specified in Section 43-19-103. Indeed, if a chancellor deems it appropriate to deviate from the statutory guidelines, the chancellor must make a written finding or a specific finding on the record that the application of the guidelines is unjust or inappropriate as determined by the criteria set out in Miss.Code Ann. § 43-19-103 (Rev.2004), which provides: (a) Extraordinary medical, psychological, educational or dental expenses. (b) Independent income of the child. (c) The payment of both child support and spousal support to the obligee. (d) Seasonal variations in one or both parents' incomes or expenses. (e) The age of the child, taking into account the greater needs of older children. (f) Special needs that have traditionally been met within the family budget even though the fulfilling of those needs will cause the support to exceed the proposed guidelines. (g) The particular shared parental arrangement, such as where the noncustodial parent spends a great deal of time with the children thereby reducing the financial expenditures incurred by the custodial parent, or the refusal of the noncustodial parent to become involved in the activities of the child, or giving due consideration to the custodial parent's homemaking services. (h) Total available assets of the obligee, obligor and the child. (i) Any other adjustment which is needed to achieve an equitable result which may include, but not limited to, a reasonable and necessary existing expense or debt. Stated differently, in order for this Court to affirm a chancellor's award which deviates from the guidelines of Miss.Code Ann. § 43-19-101(1), we must find from the record that the chancellor was able to overcome the rebuttable presumption that the statutory award is the appropriate measure of child support by making an on-the-record finding that it would be unjust or inappropriate to apply the guidelines. Chesney, 910 So.2d at 1061. ¶ 14. However, the chancellor determined that James was capable of earning at least $12,000 per month after taxes. Applying the mandatory child support guidelines outlined in Miss.Code Ann. § 43-19-101(1), James would be required to pay $2,400 per month. That being said, the chancery court required James to pay an extra hundred dollars a month for child support, which was a clear deviation from the guidelines. ¶ 15. In addition, as explained infra, the chancellor, on remand, will be required to re-evaluate James's net worth. Upon revisiting this issue, should the chancellor decide again to deviate from the statutory guidelines, the chancellor must make a specific, on-the-record finding which overcomes the rebuttable presumption. Because this issue has merit, we reverse and remand to the chancery court.