ROBERT HESSE, APPELLANT,
v.
CATHERINE HESSE, APPELLEE
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Robert Hesse appealed a trial court order extending his child support obligation for his daughter beyond age 18. The appellate court reversed, holding that the trial court erred in applying Florida's graduation provision for extended child support because the daughter would not graduate before turning 19, as required by statute.
The trial court erred in extending child support under the graduation provision because that provision requires a reasonable expectation of graduation before age 19. Since the daughter would turn 19 before graduating, there could not have been a reasonable expectation of graduation before age 19, making extension improper.
[1] A circuit court has subject matter jurisdiction to consider a supplemental petition to extend child support beyond a child's eighteenth birthday when the child is between…
[2] The plain language of section 743.07(2), Florida Statutes, which allows for the extension of child support for a dependent person between the ages of 18 and 19 who is sti…
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“there must be "a reasonable expectation of graduation before the age of 19." § 743.07(2), Fla. Stat. (1997). It is apparent there could not have been a reasonable expectation that the daughter would graduate from high school before her nineteenth birthday.”
Establishes the statutory requirement and the court's conclusion that it was not met in this case
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe former wife filed a motion to extend child support payments for the parties' daughter. The trial court granted the motion and extended the father'…
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PER CURIAM.
The former husband, Robert Hesse, appeals the final order of the trial court granting the motion of the former wife, Catherine Hesse, to extend child support payments. We reverse.
The former wife filed a motion to extend child support payment for the parties’ daughter. The trial court granted the former wife’s motion to extend payments. The court found that section 748.07, Florida Statutes (1997), was the proper vehicle for bringing the motion. The court extended the former husband’s child support obligation until the daughter’s nineteenth birthday on May 18,1998, on the basis that the daughter was scheduled to graduate from high school on or about June 6, 1998. The' former husband filed a timely appeal.
Section 743.07(2) authorizes a court to require
support for a dependent person beyond the age of 18 years when such dependency is because of a mental or physical incapacity which began prior to such person reaching majority or if the person is dependent in fact, is between the ages of 18 and 19, and is still in high school, performing in good faith with a reasonable expectation of graduation before the age of 19.
This case involves the graduation provision of section 743.07(2). While there was some discussion involving the incapacity provision of section 743.07(2) at the modification hearing, there was insufficient evidence to extend the former husband’s support obligation based upon the incapacity provision.
The former husband argues that the trial court erred in finding that the graduation provision of section 743.07(2) authorized an extension of support payments in this case. We agree with the former husband. The trial'court, by the terms of its own order, acknowledged that the parties’ daughter would reach her nineteenth birthday before her high school graduation. The terms of section 743.07(2) are clear that there must be “a reasonable expectation of graduation before the age of 19.” § 743.07(2), Fla. Stat. (1997). It is apparent there could not have been a reasonable expectation that the daughter would graduate from high school before her nineteenth birthday. Therefore, the trial court erred in finding that the graduation provision of section 743.07(2) authorized the court to extend the former husband’s child support obligation. See Wattenbarger v. Wattenbarger, 728 So. 2d 277 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999); Walworth v. Klauder, 615 So. 2d 219 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993).
Reversed and remanded.
PARKER, A.C;j„ GREEN, J., and HAYES, HUGH D„ Associate Judge, Concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Haluska v. State, 615 So. 2d 219 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993)
- Walworth v. Klauder, 615 So. 2d 219 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993)
- Wattenbarger v. Wattenbarger, 728 So. 2d 277 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999)