Opinion ID: 2631736
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Failure to State Amount of Presumptive Support in Decree

Text: [¶21] In cases too numerous to mention here, we have stressed the importance of the district court making detailed findings in matters such as the one before us today. Of course, it was irresponsible of the district court to assign the task of preparing the order in this case to a party who was appearing before the court pro se. Furthermore, it was irresponsible for the district court to sign a judgment that did not contain the information that is required by the governing statute. In its oral findings, the district court did state what the presumptive support would have been had the district court chosen to adhere to the presumptive support tables. However, that information was not memorialized in the order from which this appeal was taken. There is an inherent tension between statutes such as those at issue here (cases where the best interests of the child are at stake and/or where a statute specifically calls for findings to be in an order or decree) and the provisions of W.R.C.P. 52 [3] and 58. [4] However, it is incumbent upon the district court in any case, but especially in a case where the parties are appearing before it in child custody and/or child support matters, to ensure that the order contains all required findings. Here, the record contains a statement of the presumptive support level which we quoted above. Therefore, we conclude that this error too is de minimus and, hence, harmless.