Opinion
No. C4-96-95.
Filed May 14, 1996.
Appeal from the District Court, Hennepin County, File No. 175715.
Stephen M. Halsey, (for Respondent).
John A. Warchol, (for Appellant).
Considered and decided by Lansing, Presiding Judge, Schumacher, Judge, and Short, Judge.
This opinion will be unpublished and may not be cited except as provided by Minn. Stat. § 480A.08, subd. 3 (1994)
Unpublished Opinion
This appeal challenges a district court's (I) downward departure from child support guidelines and (II) award of partial attorneys' fees. The district court failed to make required factual findings supporting the departure, and we reverse and remand.
I
A district court ordering a downward departure from child support guidelines must make written findings specifically explaining how downward deviation serves the benefitted children's best interests. Minn. Stat. ___.551, subd. 5(i) (1994 1995 Supp.). The written findings must also address: the earnings, income, and resources of the parents; the children's financial needs and resources, their physical and emotional condition, and their educational needs; and, the standards of living that the children would have enjoyed if the marriage continued. Minn. Stat. ___.551, subd. 5(c).
A district court referee found, and the district court affirmed, that the parties earned widely disparate incomes and the husband could pay for all the children's needs without assistance from the wife. The court ordered the wife to pay approximately one-fourth of the guideline child support obligation.
The district court made no findings on how a downward departure served the children's best interests. It made no findings on the parties' assets or on the standard of living that the children would have enjoyed if the marriage continued. The district court failed to make findings required by section 518.551. We reverse and remand for additional findings of fact.
II
An award of attorneys' fees rests almost entirely within the discretion of the district court. Solon v. Solon, 255 N.W.2d 395, 397 (Minn. 1977). The district court may award attorneys' fees when one party possesses the means to pay them and the other party does not. Minn. Stat. ___.14, subd. 1(1994).
The referee and the district court found, and the facts in the record support, that the husband possessed the means to pay both parties' attorneys' fees, and the wife did not. The district court did not abuse its discretion by awarding the wife $500 in attorneys' fees, and we award an additional $500 for fees associated with this appeal.
Reversed and remanded.