ALAN MONTES DEOCA, APPELLANT,
v.
SUSAN MONTES DEOCA, APPELLEE
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Alan Montes Deoca appealed an order modifying his child support obligations, claiming the trial court used his gross income instead of net income adjusted by statutory deductions. The appellate court vacated and remanded the order, requiring the trial court to include specific findings regarding the income amounts and deductions used in calculating child support.
The trial court's child support modification order must include explicit findings as to the gross income and allowable deductions used to calculate the support amount. The court vacated and remanded the order to require the trial court to make such findings, even if the former husband forfeited certain deductions by failing to present supporting evidence.
[1] A trial court must make specific findings regarding the parties' income when calculating child support.
[2] A trial court's failure to make findings as to the income used in child support calculations prevents appellate review.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“The trial court is required to determine net income based upon section 61.30, Florida Statues, by determining 'gross income' as defined in subsection (2)(a) 1-14 and then subtracting from this figure 'allowable deductions' as defined in subsection (3)(a)-(g).”
Establishes the mandatory statutory framework for calculating child support income in Florida
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAlan Montes Deoca sought to modify his child support payments. During discovery, the former husband provided incomplete financial records, including o…
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PETERSON, J.
Alan Montes Deoca appeals an order modifying his child support payments. The former husband contends that the trial court based the monthly amount of support upon his gross income and not his income adjusted by the mandatory deductions required by section 61.30(3), Florida Statute (2001).
Our review of the record leads us to suspect that gross income was used to calculate the modified child support. We use the word “suspect” because the order modifying the child support does not include a finding as to the amount of income of either party that was used to calculate the child support. Unless such a finding is made, it is impossible for us to review the calculations for child support and for the parties to show a change of circumstances that could lead to an increase or decrease of child support in the future. See e.g., Pedroza v. Pedroza, 779 So. 2d 616, 618-619 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001) (“The trial court is required to determine net income based upon section 61.30, Florida Statues, by determining ‘gross income’ as defined in subsection (2)(a) 1-14 and then subtracting from this figure ‘allowable deductions’ as defined in subsection (3)(a)-(g).”); McDaniel v. McDaniel, 653 So. 2d 1076 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995) (trial court erred in failing to provide specific findings regarding parties income breakdowns).
The proceedings at the trial level were hampered by the former husband’s lack of cooperation when he furnished incomplete records during discovery requests and failed to provide evidence that would lead to an accurate calculation of his gross income and allowable deductions for child support purposes. For example, he produced only the first pages of his federal income tax returns and only a few months of his employee pay detail that accompanied his paychecks for the calendar year 2001 although that must have been available for the January 2002 hearing.
Although it appears that the former husband has no one to blame but himself for any miscalculation of his available income and the child support, it is the burden of the trial court to determine the amounts based upon the evidence presented. If a litigant fails to cooperate with the legal process by failing to introduce evidence that would lead to an accurate computation, the trial court can still make and state a finding of the necessary amounts including the amount of income imputed to the recalcitrant litigant. Those findings can be made from the evidence presented by the litigant having the burden to show a change of circumstances. If that evidence fails to support an adjustment for appropriate deductions, the entitlement to the missing deduction will be forfeited.
We vacate the order and final judgment modifying child support and remand for the purpose of making findings as to the amounts used to calculate child support as required by section 61.30. If the former husband failed to present evidence to support the deductions that he claims entitlement to, he has forfeited his opportunity to do so. It is not the trial court’s burden, as suggested in oral arguments, to maintain a schedule of federal income tax rates on the bench in order to calculate a litigant’s tax deductions.
REVERSED and REMANDED; ORDER VACATED.
PLEUS, J. and COBB, W„ Senior Judge, concur.
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Hindle v. Fuith, 33 So. 3d 782 (Fla. 5th DCA 2010)…v. Crouch, 898 So. 2d 177 (Fla. 5th DCA 2005). In making an award of child support, the trial court is required to determine the net income of each parent pursuant to section 61.30, and to include findings in the final judgment. See Deoca v. Deoca, 837 So. 2d 1137, 1138 (Fla. 5th DCA 2003); see also § 61.30(2) (includable income), (3) (allowable deductions), (4)-(6) (determination of net income), Fla. Stat. (2008). On remand, the trial court shall make sufficient findings to permit meaningful review of its ru…
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Shaw v. Nelson, 4 So. 3d 740 (Fla. 1st DCA 2009)…which the trier of fact could determine the parties’ respective incomes and the former husband’s average number of hours/days worked. “[I]t is the burden of the trial court to determine the amounts based upon the evidence presented.” Deoca v. Deoca, 837 So. 2d 1137, 1138 (Fla. 5th DCA 2003). Where the former husband failed to present evidence that would lead to an accurate calculation of his income, the trial court properly relied on the evidence presented by the former wife, who had the burden to show a subst…
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Van Exter v. Diodonet-Molina, 152 So. 3d 699 (Fla. 3d DCA 2014)…, 724 So. 2d 679, 682 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999). The trial court must determine the net income of each parent pursuant to section 61.30, Florida Statutes, and include the findings in the final judgment.2 Armour, 15 So. 3d at 925; see also Deoca v. Deoca, 837 So. 2d 1137, 1138 (Fla. 5th DCA 2003) (holding that the trial court has the burden to determine the child support amounts based on the evidence presented). If the trial court fails to make adequate findings, we are required to remand for determination of child…
Previewing 3 of 9 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- McDANIEL v. McDANIEL, 653 So. 2d 1076 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995)
- Pedroza v. Pedroza, 779 So. 2d 616 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001)