Court Opinion

ID: 9768340
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 05:56:47.803659+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:30:39.568872
License: Public Domain

NYE, Chief Justice,
concurring.
I respectfully concur. The majority, by way of dicta, in its opinion states that the adoption of the Family Code mandates a holding in line with the quoted provisions of Duke v. Duke, 448 S.W.2d 200 (Tex.Civ. App.—Amarillo 1969, no writ). The statements in the majority opinion are not only wrong, they have absolutely nothing to do with the result in affirming the trial court in this case. In Duke, (not followed by other courts), the court allowed a modification of a contractual agreement to pay child support, based on the reasoning that a court has a responsibility for the welfare of minor children in all divorce cases. I disagree with Duke and that portion of the majority opinion which stands for the proposition that even if the parties to a divorce decree contractually agree to child support that has been approved by the trial court, the court may later modify that contract when it appears to be in the best interest of the child.
A consent judgment which is rendered pursuant to a written agreement becomes a contract between the parties as well as an adjudication between them. The provisions of such a contract, in the absence of fraud, accident or mistake, should not be set aside or modified except by the mutual consent of the parties. Mikeska v. Mikeska, 584 S.W.2d 565 (Tex.Civ.App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1979, no writ); Boyd v. Boyd, 545 S.W.2d 520 (Tex.Civ.App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1976, no writ). See also: Hutchings v. Bates, 406 S.W.2d 419 (Tex.1966), aff'g 393 S.W.2d 338 (Tex.Civ.App. — Corpus Christi 1965) [such contractual obligations can be enforced against a deceased spouse’s estate, even though such personal service type contracts are not otherwise enforced]. Accordingly, if a consent agreement is incorporated into a divorce decree, and if the agreement provides that it may be enforced by contract terms, the trial court may not modify the child support provisions. See: Tex.Fam.Code Ann. § 14.06(d) (Vernon 1975).
In order for a divorcing couple to enter into a contractual agreement, they must follow the terms set forth in Sec. 14.06 of the Family Code. This section provides that if
“... (b) the court finds the agreement is not in the child’s best interest, the court may request the parties to submit a revised agreement or the court may make orders for the conservatorship and support of the child.
(c) If the court finds that the agreement is in the child’s best interest, its terms shall be set forth in the decree and the parties shall be ordered to perform them.”
*787The truly best interest of a child may better be served by a written contractual agreement whereby the parties have established property, funds, trusts or other security for the child’s support which may last far beyond the statutory age of support obligation. Such contractual agreements, when scrutinized by the court after taking into consideration all of the property of the parties, the financial ability of the parties to earn, and the child’s needs, could and have in many instances proved to be a far better arrangement than a court-ordered child support provision that can change up or down depending on changed conditions or the child’s alleged best interest.
To permit such a holding as the majority would interpret the Family Code would place in jeopardy all such agreements that have heretofore been entered into in good faith, and all of those which may be determined for the best interest of the child in the future. It would serve no purpose to enumerate the many benefits that such agreed contractual arrangements would afford the parties or the child. It would also not serve any purpose to speculate on the ingenuity of attorneys who, by contract, tax advantage, or other arrangements, can preserve a substantial estate for a child as a result of a divorce settlement agreement. Such arrangements far exceed the amount that a trial court could or would award under the Family Code.
Before a contractual agreement for child support should be accepted and incorporated into a divorce decree, the trial court must find that the agreement is in the best interest of the child now and for the future. Thus, the trial court is given in such cases, the added responsibility of protecting the best interest of the child against future contingencies. However, once the trial court approves the agreement dividing the parties’ property and awards support money upon that basis, there is then no power to modify the decree at a later date, (absent fraud, mistake or accident). This can be a settling situation for all parties involved. Later, a suit to enforce the terms of such contractual agreement is not one brought under the Family Code. Instead, it is an action which must be brought under the common law. See: Carson v. Korus, 575 S.W.2d 326 (Tex.Civ.App.—San Antonio 1979, no writ).
Inasmuch as the agreement therein was not a court-approved contractual agreement, I concur with the result reached by the majority.