Court Opinion

ID: 9666155
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 01:06:48.197956+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:15:24.224928
License: Public Domain

COVINGTON, Judge,
concurring in part and concurring in result in part.
I concur with the principal opinion with the exception of the issue of child support; on that issue I can concur only in result. With respect, I disagree with the principal opinion that the problem presented is one of “an interpretation of the schedule.” The schedule is silent when the family income exceeds $10,000, thus does not apply. Furthermore, I fear that the effect of the language of the principal opinion may serve to deter trial courts from entering appropriate awards in excess of the scheduled amount.
The amount of support scheduled to be awarded upon a $10,000 monthly income is not a presumed ceiling beyond which any award is suspect in that it might “provide an accumulation of capital;” If applicable, the schedule serves only as a presumed minimum in this case. Since the schedule does not apply when the family income exceeds $10,000 per month, the trial court should then be guided by the considerations set forth in § 452.340, RSMo Supp. 1990. The relevant factors include:
(1) The financial needs and resources of the child;
(2) The financial resources and needs of the parents;
(3) The standard of living the child would have enjoyed had the marriage not been dissolved;
(4) The physical and emotional condition of the child, and his educational needs.
*359Section 452.340.1(l)-(4), RSMo Supp.1990.1

. As the principal opinion notes, the statutory factors applicable in the present case were those in effect in 1987.