Craig A. Southerland v. Susan Diane Shoemaker Southerland

Summary

The Mississippi Supreme Court reviewed awards of child support, lump-sum alimony, and attorney's fees in a divorce proceeding. It affirmed the alimony and attorney's-fee awards but reversed and remanded the child-support award because the chancellor did not make adequate findings explaining why an amount exceeding the statutory guidelines was justified.

Holdings

1. When a child-support award exceeds the presumptive amount under Miss. Code Ann. § 43-19-101, the chancellor must make a written finding or specific finding on the record that applying the guidelines would be unjust or inappropriate. When the obligor's annual adjusted gross income exceeds $50,000, the court must also make a written finding regarding the reasonableness of applying the guidelines.
2. Private-school tuition, including pre-college tuition, is part of the child-support obligation and should be considered together with the guideline support amount rather than automatically treated as a separate extraordinary expense.
3. A father's pre-divorce agreement that the child attend private school may be considered, but it is by itself an inadequate basis for awarding child support above the statutory guidelines.
4. The awards of lump-sum alimony and attorney's fees were properly affirmed.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the chancery court adequately complied with Miss. Code Ann. § 43-19-101 when it awarded child support exceeding the statutory guideline amount.
2. Whether private-school tuition may be treated as part of the child-support obligation rather than as an extraordinary expense separate from child support.
3. Whether the awards of lump-sum alimony and attorney's fees were excessive or otherwise erroneous.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded