IN RE THE MARRIAGE OF JOSEPH B. MCCARVILLE AND JOYCE A. MCCARVILLE Upon the Petition of JOSEPH B. MCCARVILLE, Petitioner-Appellant, And Concerning JOYCE A. MCCARVILLE, Respondent-Appellee.
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IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA
No. 9-555 / 08-2050
Filed September 17, 2009
IN RE THE MARRIAGE OF JOSEPH B. MCCARVILLE AND JOYCE A.
MCCARVILLE
Upon the Petition of
JOSEPH B. MCCARVILLE,
Petitioner-Appellant,
And Concerning
JOYCE A. MCCARVILLE,
Respondent-Appellee.
________________________________________________________________
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Humboldt County, Thomas J. Bice,
Judge.
Joseph B. McCarville appeals from an order modifying the decree
dissolving his marriage to Joyce A. McCarville. AFFIRMED.
William H. Habhab, Fort Dodge, for appellant.
Marcy Lundberg, Fort Dodge, for appellee.
Considered by Sackett, C.J., and Eisenhauer and Doyle, JJ.
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SACKETT, C.J.
Joseph B. McCarville appeals from an order modifying the decree
dissolving his marriage to Joyce A. McCarville.
Joseph contends the district
court erred in (1) fixing his monthly child support obligation for his three children,
and (2) ordering that in addition to child support as determined by the child
support guidelines, he pay eighty percent of his children’s tuition to a parochial
school system. We affirm on our de novo review. Iowa R. App. P. 6.4.
The children, at the time of the dissolution, all attended schools within the
Saint Edmond Catholic School system in Fort Dodge, Iowa. The decree provided
that Joseph would pay the children’s tuition.
In July of 2008, Joseph filed a petition to modify the support provision of
the decree, contending there had been a substantial change in circumstances,
which included changes in the income of the parties and in the tuition expenses
for the children.
Following a hearing, the district court found changed circumstances in that
the income of both parents had increased, as had tuition for the children. The
district court further found that both parents had misconceptions about the
amount of tuition that would be owed after their marriage was dissolved. They
did not anticipate the amount they would be required to pay or that the tuition
would substantially increase.
Joseph challenges the district court’s determination of Joyce’s income by
averaging her last three pay stubs. We cannot say that the average of her last
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three pay stubs did not provide an accurate determination of Joyce’s earnings
and find no reason to disagree with the district court. We affirm on this issue.
Joseph contends it was improper for the district court to order him to pay
eighty percent of the private school tuition. He argues that the district court failed
to make findings justifying a deviation from the child support guidelines. He
contends that there was insufficient evidence to justify requiring him to pay the
tuition for the children and his total obligation for support should be limited to the
amount provided for by the guidelines.
The district court considered Iowa Court Rule 9.11 concerning deviations
from the child support guidelines and made written findings as to its reasons for
deviating from the guidelines. It found Joseph is financially capable of paying the
tuition, the children are relatively well-adjusted in their current school
environment, and transfer would be “unreasonable and certainly not in the best
interest of these three children.”
Giving the required deference to the district court and considering that
Joseph was originally ordered to pay private school tuition, that the children were
attending a private school at the time of the dissolution, and that Joseph agrees
at least the older two children should stay in the parochial school, we believe it is
equitable to deviate from the guidelines. We affirm on this issue.
We award no attorney fees.
AFFIRMED.
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