Opinion ID: 1745643
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: In re the Marriage of Harms

Text: On August 10, 1978, Mary Carol Harms and David Harms filed a petition for divorce. The petition alleged that two children had been born to the marriage: Abbey (born December 5, 1971) and Devin (born March 4, 1974). The circuit court granted the divorce by judgment entered May 1, 1979, nunc pro tunc March 26, 1979. The judgment provided that Mary Carol was to have physical custody of the couple's two minor children and that David was to pay child support in the amount of $300.00 per month. The judgment further provided that David was to have visitation of the children at all reasonable times upon twenty-four hours' advance notice and visitation for a continuous two-week period during the summer. The judgment finally provided that Mary Carol was not to move the children's residence more than fifty miles from Powers Lake, Wisconsin, without written agreement of the parties or court order. In August of 1980, Mary Carol and the children moved to Florida without the knowledge or consent of David and without order of the court. On August 24, 1980, Mary Carol wrote to David to inform him of the move, and stated in the letter: I do not expect you to pay child support or hospital insurance anymore. Maybe you could use some of the money to come here and visit the children. You averaged seeing them three days a month at home. Maybe you could manage that with us being here. David ceased making regular child support payments after he received the letter. The record indicates that David visited his children in Florida in February of 1983 and that he paid the air fare for his children to visit him in Wisconsin for two weeks during the summers of 1983 and 1985 and for four weeks in 1984. The record further indicates that David paid $6,245.00 for the children's private school tuition from 1983 through 1986. In 1985, Mary Carol wrote a letter to David concerning the tuition payments, and stated in the letter: The total tuition costs, bus fees and registration costs total 2325.00. . . . St. Martha's is not open in August until the 26th, [at] that time they want the payment for the first two months. . . . Before Abbey and Devin go up north this summer, I want a post dated check for Sept. 1st, or they are not going, I can not aford [sic] late payments in this coming year. . . . On October 15, 1987, Mary Carol filed a motion with the circuit court, requesting the court to hold David in contempt for his failure to pay child support as ordered in the judgment of divorce. Mary Carol's affidavit in support of the motion stated that David was in arrears in his child support payments in the amount of $25,200.00. The circuit court heard the motion on December 14, 1987. At the hearing, David argued that he should be given credit against the support arrearage for amounts which he paid for his children's private school tuition from 1983 to 1986. David contended that he made the tuition payments because Mary Carol threatened to keep his children from visiting him if he did not make the payments. David further contended that he made the tuition payments with Mary Carol's express or implied consent. David also argued that the support arrearage should be reduced by the amount of the travel expenses which he was forced to incur in visiting his children after Mary Carol moved them to Florida, contrary to the judgment of divorce. At the conclusion of the hearing, the court found David in contempt of court for nonpayment of child support and required David to resume making child support payments as a purge condition. The court requested that the parties file briefs on the issue of whether sec. 767.32(1m), Stats., permitted the court to grant credits against the support arrearage. In a memorandum decision filed on April 11, 1988, the circuit court found that David made the tuition payments voluntarily and that those payments were not credited as support payments because they were not sent through the clerk of courts. The circuit court ruled that sec. 767.32(1m), Stats., prohibited the court from retroactively granting credit against the support arrearage for the amount of the tuition payments. The circuit court also ruled that the expenses which David incurred in visiting his children appear[ed] to be for himself or his new family or [are] uncreditable under sec. 767.32(1m). Accordingly, the circuit court entered judgment finding David in contempt of court on May 26, 1988, nunc pro tunc December 14, 1987. David appealed from the judgment of the circuit court. The court of appeals certified the case to this court. We granted the certification request and accepted jurisdiction of the appeal.