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Lewis v. Lewis

Court of Appeals of Virginia. Alexandria
Aug 17, 1993
Record No. 2468-92-4 (Va. Ct. App. Aug. 17, 1993)

Opinion

Record No. 2468-92-4

August 17, 1993

FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF FAIRFAX COUNTY JACK B. STEVENS, JUDGE.

(Donovan J. Lewis, Sr., pro se, on brief).

No brief or argument for appellee.

Present: Judges Baker, Bray and Fitzpatrick.

Argued at Alexandria, Virginia.


MEMORANDUM OPINION

Pursuant to Code § 17-116.010 this opinion is not designated for publication.


In this appeal, Donovan J. Lewis, Sr. (appellant) contends that the Circuit Court of Fairfax County (trial court) erred in calculating the amount he should be required to pay Barbara E. Lewis (appellee) for the support of their six year-old child. Appellant asserts that in determining the sum to be $1,489 per month, the trial court erroneously failed to credit him with the sums he paid to or on behalf of two adult children of his former marriage; that it erroneously found that the total expenses incurred by appellee on behalf of the child were $2,056 per month; and that the sum of $1,489 per month was not the appropriate amount of support appellant should be required to pay even if the finding of total expenses incurred had been correct.

The record reveals that appellant voluntarily contributed to the support of two adult children born of a prior marriage. Appellant sought a reduction, based upon the amount of those contributions, from the income available for the child's support. The trial court refused to consider the payments made by appellant on behalf of and to the adult children. No unusual circumstances were shown that would require such consideration.

The jurisdiction of the divorce court to provide for child support is purely statutory. Rodriguez v. Rodriguez, 1 Va. App. 87, 91, 334 S.E.2d 595, 597 (1985). Except in special circumstances not shown by this record, unless the parties have contracted to the contrary, the trial court is without jurisdiction to order a parent to support his adult children.See Cutshaw v. Cutshaw, 220 Va. 638, 641, 261 S.E.2d 52, 54 (1979). If a parent cannot be ordered to support his adult children, the trial court is not required to consider voluntary payments made to such adult children.

By counsel, appellee submitted a work sheet that asserted that the child's monthly expenses were $2,202.35. The trial court concluded that monthly expenses of $2,056 had been proved. When appellee testified, however, she proved expenses in a sum less than $1,500 of the $2,200 alleged in the work sheet submitted by her counsel. Thus, the record does not support the trial court's conclusion.

The trial court further found that, based upon the respective monthly incomes of the parties, appellant should be required to pay sixty-six percent of the incurred expenses. Appellant does not contend that sixty-six percent is inappropriate; however, he asserts that the $2,056 found by the trial court is not supported by the record, and that even if the record had supported a $2,056 finding, the sum of $1,489 is more than sixty-six percent of $2,056. We agree with appellant's contention. The record fails to support the trial court's determination that appellee incurred monthly expenses of $2,056, and the court erroneously determined $1,489 to be sixty-six percent of that sum. Thus, the judgment was plainly wrong and without evidence to support it.

Accordingly, we vacate the judgment of the trial court and remand this cause for such further hearings as may be necessary to determine the appropriate amount appellant must contribute to the child's support.

Judgment vacated and remanded.


Summaries of

Lewis v. Lewis

Court of Appeals of Virginia. Alexandria
Aug 17, 1993
Record No. 2468-92-4 (Va. Ct. App. Aug. 17, 1993)
Case details for

Lewis v. Lewis

Case Details

Full title:DONOVAN J. LEWIS, SR. v. BARBARA E. LEWIS

Court:Court of Appeals of Virginia. Alexandria

Date published: Aug 17, 1993

Citations

Record No. 2468-92-4 (Va. Ct. App. Aug. 17, 1993)