Opinion ID: 1926857
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: the 1993 and 1994 orders

Text: [¶ 10] Charles contends that the court erred in the way it deviated from the child support guidelines when determining the amount of support he is required to pay for 1993 and 1994. In determining orders of support, the child support guidelines are presumed to govern the amount the court orders a parent to pay for child support. See 19-A M.R.S.A. §§ 2005, 2006 (1998). A court may deviate from the child support guidelines pursuant to 19-A M.R.S.A. § 2007 (1998). [7] We review such a deviation from the guidelines for an abuse of discretion, and, absent a violation of a positive rule of law, we will overturn the trial court's decision only if it results in a plain and unmistakable injustice, so apparent that it is instantly visible without argument. Fowler v. Fowler, 1997 ME 231, ¶ 6, 704 A.2d 373, 374-75 (citing White v. Allen, 667 A.2d 112, 115 (Me.1995)). [¶ 11] Charles contends the court exceeded its discretion because, in deviating upward from the child support guidelines, it considered only one factorthe settlements Charles receivedand disregarded other factors set out in section 2007. Charles does not dispute that the $30,000 and $20,000 settlements received by him in 1993 and 1994 may be considered as nonrecurring income pursuant to section 2007(3)(E). He contends, however, that the court impermissibly disregarded certain countervailing factors. These include the suggestion before the court that one daughter had moved to live with Charles in April of 1994, that another daughter moved in at some unspecified time thereafter, that Susan had made improvements to her home at the expense of the children, that Charles's decision to go to law school was to improve[] his economic prospects. He argues that the child support awards for 1993 and 1994 are a significant and unjustified economic windfall for Susan. [¶ 12] In its decision to deviate from the child support guidelines, the court relied on 19-A M.R.S.A. § 2007(3)(E), and properly considered the settlements as nonrecurring income not included in the definition of gross income. 19-A M.R.S.A. § 2007(3)(E). The court concluded that its upward deviation from the child support guidelines was appropriate based on: (1) the amount of the settlements; (2) Charles's choice to go to law school at the expense of his children and at a time when he had an obligation to support his three children; and (3) the children's resulting dependence on public assistance. Although the court could have placed more emphasis on the factors suggested by Charles, its decision not to do so, and its decision to deviate upward from the child support guidelines in the amount that it did was not an abuse of discretion that is instantly visible without argument. Fowler, 1997 ME 231, ¶ 6, 704 A.2d at 375. The entry is: Judgment affirmed.