Georgia Supreme Court held in Walls v. Walls, 732 S.E.2d 407 (Ga. 2012) that trial court’s deviation from presumptive amount of child support calculated under guidelines, without including any findings, warranted remand. BY: Savannah C.

Link for opinion: http://web2.westlaw.com/result/default.wl?cfid=1&mt=Westlaw&origin=Search&sskey=CLID_SSSA94200017172311&query=%22WALLS+V+WALLS%22&db=GA-CS&cnt=DOC&rlt=CLID_QRYRLT76512017172311&method=TNC&service=Search&eq=search&rp=%2fsearch%2fdefault.wl&srch=TRUE&vr=2.0&action=Search&rlti=1&rltdb=CLID_DB58200017172311&fmqv=s&sv=Split&n=-1&fn=_top&rs=WLW12.10

Title: Georgia Supreme Court held in Walls v. Walls, 732 S.E.2d 407 (Ga. 2012) that trial court’s deviation from presumptive amount of child support calculated under guidelines, without including any findings, warranted remand.

Case Information:

Todd Wall (husband) file for divorce from Pamela Walls (wife) in 2007. The grounds for the divorce were an irretrievable broken marriage. Todd requested in his complaint that both parties have joint legal and physical custody of their two children. When Pamela answered the complaint she sought primary physical and legal custody of the children and allowed her husband liberal visitation. Pamela also asked for child support at this time as well. The Todd amended his complaint adding that the Pamela was adulterous as another grounds for the divorce.

The trial court issued its ruling in 2011 granting the divorce to on the grounds of adultery and that the marriage was irretrievably broken. The decree from the court ordered that Pamela and Todd share joint legal custody. However, the court awarded Todd (husband) primary custody and gave the Pamela (wife) liberal visitation rights. The divorce decree also ordered Pamela to pay child support. The court used a child support worksheet to determine the monthly amount. The amount determined was $640.96. However, the court found merit to deviate from that amount on the grounds of extraordinary medical expenses. 

Pamela argued on appeal that at the trial level the court erred in allowing Todd’s sister to testify because Todd’s sister would not be able to be bias. The Supreme Court found that there was no error and that the testimony was admissible. The Pamela (wife) also argued that the trial court erred in its determination of child custody. Pamela state that that Todd only requested joint custody in his original complaint. The Supreme Court found that the trial court did not make a mistake when it gave Todd primary custody. The trial court has the right to determine what is in the best interest of the child. Pamela also contested that the trial court did not provide an order explaining the reasons that the child support was reduced. The Supreme Court reversed this part of the trial courts judgment and sent the case back for redetermination of child support. The Supreme Court required that any deviations from the required amount of child support be in written form, attached to courts order and supported with reason to the trial courts order.

Labels for the post: Joint legal custody, child support, child custody, husband, wife visitation