Franklin v. Franklin

Elisha Franklin “Wife” and Elijah Franklin “Husband” were divorced pursuant to a June 3, 2011, Final Decree. The parties have three minor children together, and the trial court awarded primary custody to Husband and visitation rights to Wife. The trial court further ordered Wife to pay $1,518 per month in child support based on a finding that her monthly income was $8,833.33 per month/$106,000 per year and found that the parties had agreed to a final division of marital assets prior to the final divorce hearing.1 On June 28, 2011, Husband filed a Motion for Disposition of Real Property, representing that, although the parties had previously agreed to sell their marital residence, the parties had been unable to agree on a date upon which Wife would move out of the residence in order to allow for the house to be sold. On June 30, 2011, Wife filed a motion for new trial, and on September 13, 2011, Husband filed a contempt motion based on Wife’s failure to pay child support. On September 30, 2011, Wife filed a motion for reconsideration and a contempt motion based on Husband’s alleged violation of the visitation provisions of the trial court’s Final Decree. Following an October 4-5, 2011 hearing, in an October 28, 2011 order, the trial court denied Wife’s contempt motion and granted Husband’s contempt motion, requiring Wife to pay $4,555 in child support. In a separate ruling, the trial court ordered that the proceeds of the sale of Husband and Wife’s house be equally divided between them. This Court granted Wife’s application to appeal pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 34 4, by which this Court shall grant a timely application from a final judgment and decree of divorce that is determined by the Court to have possible merit. For the reasons that follow, we reverse the trial court’s finding as to Wife’s gross monthly income and remand the case to the trial court to make a proper finding based on the evidence, and we affirm the remainder of the trial court’s challenged rulings on appeal.

1. Wife contends that the trial court erred in determining that her gross monthly income was $8,833.33 for the purpose of determining her child support obligations. We agree.