Thus, the burden was on Horton to prove a new and material change in circumstance which affected T. H.'s welfare since 2002. See Martin v. Greco, 225 Ga. App. 752, 753 (1) ( 484 SE2d 789) (1997); OCGA ยง 19-9-3 (b). The trial court granted Horton's petition and based its decision on the following findings of facts: (1) Lynch's abandonment of T. H. for several months in 2004; (2) Lynch's admitted forgery of a court order in an attempt to abscond with T. H.; and (3) T. H.'s continued residence with Horton in Cobb County for approximately three years and good performance in school.
In short, Gowins's financial condition has not "changed" simply because Gary made his required child support payments. See, e.g., Green v. Krebs, 245 Ga. App. 756, 760 (3) ( 538 SE2d 832) (2000) (error to include child support paid by father to mother for purposes of calculating amount of child support mother owed father after change of custody "because this income would cease as a result of the court's new [custody] order"); Martin v. Greco, 225 Ga. App. 752, 753 (2) ( 484 SE2d 789) (1997) (same). Finally, the trial court found that Gowins's credit rating had improved. It is unclear whether this finding impacted the modification determination.
Templeman v. Earnest, 209 Ga. App. 557, 558 ( 434 S.E.2d 106) (1993).Martin v. Greco, 225 Ga. App. 752, 753(1) ( 484 S.E.2d 789) (1997). Id.
As we have held, the guidelines are mandatory and must be applied when calculating awards of child support, regardless of whether the child's parents ever married. Ganny v. Ganny, 238 Ga. App. 123, 127(6) ( 518 S.E.2d 148) (1999) (guidelines applied for child born out of wedlock); Martin v. Greco, 225 Ga. App. 752, 753-754(2) ( 484 S.E.2d 789) (1997) (same); Kennedy v. Adams, 218 Ga. App. 120, 123(4) ( 460 S.E.2d 540) (1995) (same); Batterson v. Groves, 204 Ga. App. 52, 53 ( 418 S.E.2d 373) (1992) (same). It follows from these authorities that, for the purposes of Chapter 6 of the Domestic Relations Code, the term "former spouse" is equated with "parent" when considering issues of child support.
The trial court's decision on a modification petition will be affirmed on appeal if supported by any reasonable evidence.Martin v. Greco, 225 Ga. App. 752, 753(1) ( 484 S.E.2d 789)(1997). Id.
On remand, the trial court is directed to recalculate Green's support obligation in a manner consistent with this opinion. See Martin v. Greco, 225 Ga. App. 752, 753 (2) ( 484 S.E.2d 789) (1997). See O.C.G.A. ยง 19-6-15 (b), (c).