Court Opinion

ID: 9746974
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-27 14:48:36.766498+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:25:18.958259
License: Public Domain

JOHNSON, Judge,
dissenting.
In this case, Father appeals from an order for child support. I completely agree with the Majority to the extent that it upholds the order of the trial court directing the parties’ to equally share the cost of their daughter’s college education. However, I am compelled to dissent since I would affirm the order of the trial court in its entirety.-
*423The Majority defines the primary issue in this appeal as whether the trial court erred in excluding alimony payments received by Mother from her income in calculating the amount of her child support payments due to Father. The Majority determines that the trial court erred in its calculation of Mother’s monthly income. I disagree.
To include alimony received in Mother’s monthly income, the Majority relies upon Rule 1910.16-5(b) of the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure. Subsection (b) of this Rule states, in its entirety:
(b) Monthly Net Income. The amount of support to be awarded is based in large part upon the parties monthly net income. Monthly net income is determined by subtracting only the following items from monthly gross income:
(1) federal, state, and local income taxes;
(2) F.I.C.A. payments and non-voluntary retirement payments;
(3) union dues;
(4) health insurance premiums for the benefit of the other party or the children.
Monthly gross income is ordinarily based upon at least a six-month average of all of a party’s income. The term “income” is defined in support law, 23 Pa.C.S. § 4302, and includes income from any source. The statute lists many types of income including:
(1) wages, salaries, fees and commissions;
(2) income from business or dealings in property;
(3) interest, rents, royalties, and dividends;
(4) pensions and all forms of retirement;
(5) income from an interest in an estate or trust; and
(6) social security benefits, temporary and permanent disability benefits, workmen’s compensation and unemployment compensation.
From reference to Rule 1910.16—5(b), the Majority correctly states that the Rule does not provide for the deduction of alimony payments from Father’s gross income to calculate his net income for child support purposes. The Rule clearly *424provides only for the deduction of various taxes, retirement contributions, health insurance payments, and union dues.
The Majority then defines gross “income” as a term “broad enough to include alimony payments” in Mother’s income for the purpose of calculating child support payments. I must disagree. The term “income” is defined specifically for support law in 23 Pa.C.S. § 4302 as:
“Income.” Includes compensation for services, including, but not limited to, wages, salaries, compensation in kind, commissions and similar items; income derived from business; gains derived from dealings in property; interest; rents; royalties; dividends; annuities; income from life insurance and endowment contracts; all forms of retirement; pensions; income from discharge of indebtedness; distributive share of partnership gross income; income in respect of a decedent; military retirement benefits; railroad employment retirement benefits; social security benefits; temporary and permanent disability benefits; workmen’s compensation and unemployment compensation.
Our legislature does not include alimony in the specific examples used to illustrate what constitutes gross income. This statute specifically provides that “compensation for services” is included in the definition of “income” for support purposes. Rather than serving as compensation to a spouse for services, as contemplated for “income” under 23 Pa.C.S. § 4302, our Court has considered alimony to be rehabilitative. Alimony assures that the needs of the dependent spouse are met until such time as the dependent spouse is able to adjust to life without financial support from the former spouse. McNulty v. McNulty, 347 Pa.Super. 363, 500 A.2d 876 (1985). While the term “income”, as defined for support purposes, may encompass many types of remuneration, I am unwilling to usurp the legislative function and include alimony in the definition of “income” under 23 Pa.C.S. § 4302. The Majority relies upon the inclusion of alimony in gross income for income tax purposes as support for the proposition that alimony should be included in the calculation of Mother’s gross income. Rule 1910.16—5(b), however, specifically refers to “income” *425only as it is defined by support law, 23 Pa.C.S. § 4302. Absent statutory authority, I will not presume the term “income” to be so all-inclusive that it must necessarily include alimony.
This Court has recently addressed this identical issue in Steinmetz v. Steinmetz, 381 Pa.Super. 440, 554 A.2d 83 (1989). There, we stated that monies allocated as alimony should be excluded from the resources available for child support for both supporting and dependent spouses. Id. at 449, 554 A.2d at 86-87. The Majority correctly notes that our holding in Steinmetz was superseded by Pa.R.C.P. 1910.16—5(b) to the extent that money allocated for alimony payments may not be excluded when calculating the payor spouse’s net income. Nonetheless, I am unable to agree with the Majority’s conclusion that Rule 1910.16(b) invalidates the entire holding of Steinmetz. There, we specifically stated:
Because alimony is specifically designated to assist the dependent spouse in overcoming the economic effects of the dissolution of the marriage and not for the support of the children, the inclusion of the alimony award would create the appearance of an inflated income from which the child support obligation would be drawn and would undermine the purpose for which alimony is awarded.
Steinmetz at 448, 554 A.2d at 86. This statement is the viable standard under which we must assess the actions of the trial court. Nothing contained in Rule 1910.16-5(b) acts to supersede this long-held understanding as to the purpose of alimony.
In the present case, the trial court applied the appropriate standards to arrive at the income available for child support for both parties. The trial court included the money allocated for alimony payments in Father’s net income, as statutorily mandated under Rule 1910.16-5(b). The trial court also excluded the amount of alimony payments received from Mother’s income for the purposes of calculating the child support which Mother must pay, which is the proper procedure, under Steinmetz.
*426I am unable to agree with the Majority that it is within the purview of this Court to “rescue” parties from “the results of a bad bargain”. Majority opinion, pp. 417-421. Our function, as an appellate court, is not to fashion a more “fair and equitable result.” Majority opinion, p. 421. An order for child support must be affirmed unless a clear abuse of discretion on the part of the trial court has been proven by clear and convincing evidence. Oeler by Gross v. Oeler, 527 Pa. 532, 594 A.2d 649 (1991). I am unable to conclude that there has been an abuse of discretion on the part of the trial court, since the order in question complies with the existing law.
The Majority, in footnote 8, p. 422, indicates that it expresses no opinion on whether the interest rate of seven and one-half percent as established in the agreement is usurious. Since the clear implication of the footnote is that such a rate might be usurious, and since material contained in footnotes in one opinion sometimes surface as “law” in a later opinion, I feel compelled to distance myself from any such implication.
The parties, in this case, were represented by counsel and clearly provided for a specific rate of interest to be paid by Father in the event of a default in the payment of alimony. Property Settlement Agreement, January 21, 1988 at 14. Where contract provisions anticipate non-payment of money due, and provide for a specific rate of interest, they will be upheld. Daset Mining Corp. v. Industrial Fuels Corp., 326 Pa.Super. 14, 36, 473 A.2d 584, 595 (1984). Only where parties fail to provide for the rate of interest, in the event of breach of contract, will the “legal rate” of interest be applied by the courts. Daset Mining Corp. at 39, 473 A.2d at 597; Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 354, comment a.
In the present case, the parties, on the advice of counsel, agreed that if Father were to breach his duty to pay alimony, interest of seven and one-half percent per month would be paid to Mother on all unpaid amounts of alimony. Father does not contend that the rate of interest as provided in the property settlement agreement is usurious or illegal. This issue was not raised in the trial court. The Majority raises this issue sua sp'onte, albeit by way of footnote. But see *427Pa.R.A.P. 302(a). This Court could not consider the issue posed in the Majority’s footnote 8 simply because it is outside the scope of proper appellate review. Estep v. Estep, 508 Pa. 623, 626-627, 500 A.2d 418, 419 (1985) citing Wiegand v. Wiegand, 461 Pa. 482, 485, 337 A.2d 256, 257 (1975).
On this appeal, Father asserts that he misunderstood the interest provision which appears in the property settlement agreement and that the trial court should have considered Father’s understanding of the interest term in the agreement. Father also contends that the delinquent payments for alimony and the educational support for his daughter should have been designated solely as payments due for educational support. In that way, no interest could be assessed under the property settlement agreement. I find no merit in these arguments. I am at a loss in understanding the purpose in the Majority alluding to the possibility of usury arising on these facts.
The trial court, in this case, correctly articulated and applied the law with respect to property settlement agreements. Property settlement agreements will be interpreted in accordance with the same rules of law that apply to the interpretation of contracts in general. VanKirk v. VanKirk, 336 Pa.Super. 502, 485 A.2d 1194 (1984). When construing agreements with clear and unambiguous terms, this Court need only examine the writing itself to give effect to the parties understanding. McMahon v. McMahon, 417 Pa.Super. 592, 598, 612 A.2d 1360, 1363 (1992). Here, the clear and unambiguous language of this property settlement agreement provides for payment of the agreed upon interest rate in the event of default by Father. Father entered into this agreement on advice of counsel and does not claim that the agreement was the product of fraud, duress or coercion. Now that Father has defaulted on his duty to pay alimony and educational expenses, he cannot offer parole evidence to explain how he would interpret the unambiguous interest provision which appears on the face of the agreement. Frank v. Frank, 402 Pa.Super. 458, 587 A.2d 340 (1991). Moreover, Father offers no authority, nor do we discern any, for the proposition that *428he should be permitted to allocate, from the $13,240.00 he owes in arrearages, how much of that sum should be designated as alimony or as educational expense, so that he can avoid paying interest on unpaid alimony. I cannot conclude that the trial court abused its discretion by enforcing the clear and unambiguous contract provisions. I would, therefore, affirm the order of the trial court.
Accordingly, I must respectfully dissent.