IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF TENNESSEE
AT NASHVILLE
FILED
July 1, 1998
WILLIAM P. WILLIAMS, )
Cecil W. Crowson
)
Appellate Court Clerk
Plaintiff/Appellee, )
) Appeal No.
) 01-A-01-9711-CH-00679
VS. )
) Wilson Chancery
) No. 7297
WANDA C. WILLIAMS, )
)
Defendant/Appellant. )
APPEALED FROM THE CHANCERY COURT OF WILSON COUNTY
AT LEBANON, TENNESSEE
THE HONORABLE C. K. SMITH, CHANCELLOR
CLARA WILLIS BYRD
105½ South Cumberland Street
Lebanon, Tennessee 37087
Attorney for Plaintiff/Appellee
CLARK LEE SHAW
2525 Lebanon Road
Nashville, Tennessee 37214
Attorney for Defendant/Appellant
AFFIRMED AND REMANDED
BEN H. CANTRELL, JUDGE
CONCUR:
TODD, P.J., M.S.
KOCH, J.
OPINION
This is a child support case. The Chancery Court of Wilson County set
the mother’s obligation of support at $723.00 per month. The mother appeals and
asserts that the evidence preponderates against the trial court’s finding. We affirm
the judgment below.
I.
The parties were divorced in the Chancery Court of Wilson County on
June 2, 1988. In 1994 the chancellor awarded custody of the parties’ three children
to the father and set child support at $550 per month. In 1996 the father petitioned
for an increase in child support and the mother counterclaimed for a decrease. The
court found that the mother has the capability to earn $2200 per month, and raised
her child support obligation to $723.00 per month.
II.
The only issue raised on appeal is whether the evidence supports the
trial court’s findings. The findings are presumed to be correct, unless the evidence
preponderates against them. Rule 13(d), Tenn. R. App. Proc.
The mother is a realtor and she earns commissions on property sales.
She is also an investor in real property, buying houses for renovation, rental, and
resale. Her financial statements for 1995 showed an anticipated income of $45,000
in salary and wages and $36,000 in rental income. Taking her rental expenses into
account, the statement showed a net income of $40,000. She filed an identical
statement in August of 1996 and showed a projected income of $70,000 from
commissions and bonuses plus another $66,000 from rental income. For the same
year she projected that taxes, living expenses, rental expenses, and something called
“other business expenses” would amount to $98,000. The difference shown in a slot
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for net cash flow was $28,000. Her net worth increased by $121,350 from 1995 to
1996.
Her income tax returns for the same years, filed jointly with her husband,
do not show any income to speak of. But after hearing all the proof, the chancellor
found the following:
I just don’t think that the burden of proof has been
carried either way to the extent that you two would have
me to believe that. I believe that the burden of proof
shows, she’s not -- she’s got the capability of making at
least $2,200 a month. I don’t think the burden of proof
has been carried to the extent to convince me that she’s
making $60,000 a year; nor has the burden of proof been
carried to make me feel like she can only make $7,000 a
year. You know, I just don’t believe either of you carried
that burden of proof.
I feel like that the proof is, is that her child support
should be set on the gross income of $2,200 a month,
and that’s actually -- the average of those two would be
2,100 and something, but I’ve taken into consideration the
fact that she’s not providing health insurance. So I’ve just
rounded that up to $2,200, and I’ll require her to pay $723
a month.
We cannot say that the evidence preponderates against the chancellor’s
findings.
We affirm the judgment of the trial court and remand the cause to the
Chancery Court of Wilson County for any further proceedings necessary. Tax the
costs on appeal to the appellant.
_________________________________
BEN H. CANTRELL, JUDGE
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CONCUR:
_______________________________
HENRY F. TODD, PRESIDING JUDGE
MIDDLE SECTION
_____________________________
WILLIAM C. KOCH, JR., JUDGE
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