Opinion
A21A1638
08-13-2021
BERG v. BEAVER.
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
After a two-day evidentiary hearing, the trial court modified the custody and child support provisions established by the divorce decree that dissolved the marriage between Brian Berg and Rebecca Beaver. In determining Berg's gross monthly income for child support purposes, the trial court found that Berg had presented unreliable evidence regarding income. It thus imputed his income pursuant to OCGA § 19-6-15 (f) (4) (A) by averaging the monthly expenses that Berg actually paid in 2019 and 2020. We granted Berg's application for discretionary review, and this appeal followed.
Among other things, Berg argues that his income evidence was reliable and that the trial court should have used that evidence to calculate his gross monthly income, rather than imputing income. This is a peculiarly factual claim that requires us to review the testimony and other evidence presented at the final hearing. The record shows, however, that we do not have the entire transcript of that hearing. Only excerpts of the transcript were filed in the trial court and transmitted to us on appeal. We have separate transcripts containing the testimony of Berg, the testimony of Beaver, and the trial court's ruling following the close of evidence. But it appears that at least one other witness (Berg's current wife) testified about his financial situation, and we do not know what other evidence might have been presented.
Berg's notice of appeal states that "[t]ranscripts of the final hearing shall be included in the record on appeal." The transcript that the trial court and this Court received is incomplete, impeding our ability to review Berg's claims. Accordingly, we REMAND this case to the Superior Court of Clarke County for completion of the hearing transcript. Once the full transcript has been filed with the trial court, the Clerk of the Superior Court shall re-transmit the appellate record (including the completed transcript) to this Court within ten (10) days so that the appeal can be re-docketed. No further notice of appeal is required.
Given the wording of Berg's notice of appeal, we presume that he intended to include a transcript of the entire hearing in the appellate record. If Berg did not intend to include the full transcript, he should inform the trial court of that fact and amend his notice of appeal to indicate which excerpts should be included. Once all designated excerpts have been filed, the Clerk of the Superior Court shall transmit the record designated by Berg to this Court within ten (10) days so that the appeal can be re-docketed.