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HomeMy WebLinkAbout468 S 2014 REBECCA M. POPP, : IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF Plaintiff : CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA : v. : DOMESTIC RELATIONS SECTION : JASON A. POPP, : DOCKET NO. 468 SUPPORT 2014 Defendant : PACSES NO. 009114174 ORDER OF COURT th AND NOW this 8 day of September, 2015, upon consideration of Plaintiff, Rebecca M. Popp’s, Exceptions to Support Master’s Report and Recommendations, Plaintiff’s brief, and noting that Defendant did not file a brief and neither party requested oral argument; IT IS HEREBY ORDERED AND DIRECTED that Plaintiff, Rebecca M. Popp’s, GRANTED Exceptions to Support Master’s Report and Recommendations are . The Recommendations are amended as follows: A. Father shall pay to the Pennsylvania State Collection and Disbursement Unit as support for his children, Agnes J. Popp, born April 19, 2014, and Noah B. Popp, born December 7, 2011, the sum of $778.76 per month. E. Father shall pay to the Pennsylvania State Collection and Disbursement Unit as support for his wife, Rebecca M. Popp, the sum of $375.54 per month. H. The monthly support obligation includes cash medical support in the amount of $250.00 annually for unreimbursed medical expenses incurred for the children. Unreimbursed medical expenses of each child that exceed $250.00 annually shall be allocated between the parties. The party seeking allocation of unreimbursed medical expenses must provide documentation of expenses to the st other party no later than March 31 of the year following the calendar year in which the final medical bill to be allocated was received. The unreimbursed medical expenses are to be paid as follows: 90% by Father and 10% by Mother. All other Recommendations remain the same. The Interim Order dated February 12, IS HEREBY MADE FINAL 2015, as modified above, . By the Court, ___________________________ M. L. Ebert, Jr., J. Paul Primrose, Esquire Counsel for Plaintiff Jason A. Popp Defendant 2 REBECCA M. POPP, : IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF Plaintiff : CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA : v. : DOMESTIC RELATIONS SECTION : JASON A. POPP, : DOCKET NO. 468 SUPPORT 2014 Defendant : PACSES NO. 009114174 OPINION AND ORDER OF COURT Ebert, J., September 8, 2015 – A de novo hearing was held before the Support Master on January 21, 2015. Following the hearing, the Support Master made the following recommendations: A. Father shall pay to the Pennsylvania State Collection and Disbursement Unit as support for his children, Agnes J. Popp, born April 19, 2014, and Noah B. Popp, born December 7, 2011, the sum of $765.42 per month. B. Pending completion of transfer of the divorce action from Montgomery County to Cumberland County the alimony pendente lite shall be converted to spousal support. C. Within seven days of completing transfer of the divorce action from Montgomery County to Cumberland County the parties shall be obligated to inform the Cumberland County Domestic Relations Section of the change. D. Upon notice of an appropriate divorce docket in Cumberland County, the Cumberland County Domestic Relations Section shall convert the spousal support back to alimony pendente lite. E. Father shall pay to the Pennsylvania State Collection and Disbursement Unit as support for his wife, Rebecca M. Popp, the sum of $176.63 per month. F. Father shall pay to the Pennsylvania State Collection and Disbursement Unit the additional sum of $110 per month on arrears. 3 G. Mother or Father shall provide medical support for the benefit of the children as is available to either through employment or other group coverage at a reasonable cost. H. The monthly support obligation includes cash medical support in the amount of $250.00 annually for unreimbursed medical expenses incurred for the children. Unreimbursed medical expenses of each child that exceed $250.00 annually shall be allocated between the parties. The party seeking allocation of unreimbursed medical expenses must provide st documentation of expenses to the other party no later than March 31 of the year following the calendar year in which the final medical bill to be allocated was received. The unreimbursed medical expenses are to be paid as follows: 71% by Father and 29% by Mother. 1 I. The effective date of this order is November 3, 2014. Plaintiff, Rebecca M. Popp, (hereinafter “Mother”) filed exceptions to the Support Master’s Report and Recommendation. Mother’s exception is: 1. The Support Master erred in finding that the Plaintiff worked an average of 13 hours per week over the last six months when testimony and pay stubs that were admitted into evidence indicated that the Plaintiff worked 2 an average of 5.5 hours per week over the last six months. For the following reasons, Mother’s exception is granted. Statement of Facts and Procedural History Mother and Jason A. Popp (hereinafter “Father”) were married in June 2011 and separated in August 2013. They are the parents of two minor children, Agnes J. Popp, born April 19, 2014, and Noah B. Popp, born December 7, 2011. Mother has primary custody of the children and Father has periods of custody every other weekend. The parties lived together in Montgomery County until Mother moved to Cumberland County 1 Support Master’s Report and Recommendation, filed Feb. 17, 2015 (hereinafter “Report at __”) 2 Exceptions to Support Master’s Report and Recommendation, filed Mar. 9, 2015 4 in April 2014 to live closer to her family. Father moved to Halifax, Pennsylvania in September 2014 to live with his parents and be closer to his children. Originally, divorce, custody, and support actions were filed in Montgomery County. The prior support order from Montgomery County, dated August 21, 2014, found Father’s support obligation to be $1,061.56 per month for the support of his 3 children and $566.57 per month as alimony pendente lite. The parties agreed by stipulation to transfer venue of the support and related matters to Cumberland County on October 8, 2014. Father filed a Petition to Modify on November 1, 2014, in Cumberland County after the transfer of the support action was complete. Mother is currently an auction clerk for Cordier Auctions in Harrisburg, working part-time. She has been at that position for a little over a year. Mother earns $12 per 4 hour and works when needed. The Support Master concluded that Mother worked 5 approximately 13 hours per week. However, Mother’s pay stubs and testimony at the 6 Support Hearing indicate she worked less than 13 hours per week. Mother indicated that she wishes to continue with this employment and stay home primarily to raise the children at least until the children are in school so she will not have child care expenses. Mother provides health insurance for both children through the Children’s Health Insurance Program at no cost to herself. At the time of the Support Hearing, Father was unemployed. It was determined that he would receive $573 per week as unemployment benefits, although he had not yet received a payment at the time of the hearing. Prior to being unemployed, Father 3 The Montgomery County divorce and custody action had not yet been transferred to Cumberland County at the date of the support hearing as neither party had paid required fees. 4 Report at 1-3 5 Report at 3 6 Notes of Testimony, In Re: Popp v. Popp, 12, Jan. 21, 2015 (hereinafter N.T. at __ ) 5 was employed at the Community College of Philadelphia as a research assistant 7 earning $52,722 per year. Father testified that he resigned this position to move to Halifax because he could no longer afford to live in Philadelphia and commute to see 8 his children every other weekend. After resigning from the Community College of Philadelphia, Father was employed at the Pennsylvania Chiropractic Association. While there Father worked full-time and earned $12 an hour. However, this position was only intended to be for a short period and Father’s employment ended there on 9 December 12, 2014. At the hearing, Father requested that he be permitted to claim both children as dependents. However, since Father is only deriving income through unemployment compensation, the Support Master determined it was in the best interests of the children 10 to allow Mother to claim both children. After considering their income and tax-filing status, the Support Master found Mother’s net monthly income for support purposes to be $929.36. Father’s net monthly income was determined to be $2,283.53. With a combined income of $3,212.89, the basic child support obligation is $1,077. Father’s share of the child support was determined to be $765.42 per month. Father’s spousal support obligation was determined to be $176.63 per month. As the parties divorce was not yet transferred to Cumberland County at the time of the hearing, the $176.63 was ordered as spousal 7 Report at 3-4 8 N.T. at 44 9 Report at 3 10 Report at 8 6 support. Once the divorce is transferred, the spousal support should automatically 11 revert back to alimony pendente lite. Discussion When reviewing a master’s report and recommendation, a trial court is required to review the report to determine if the master’s recommendations are appropriate. Goodman v. Goodman, 544 A.2d 1033, 1035 (Pa. Super. 1988). The reviewing court has the duty to make a complete and independent review of all the evidence, including the credibility of the witnesses. Gomez v. Gomez, 11 Phila. 221, 227; 1984 Phila. Cty. Rptr. LEXIS 80; 1984 WL 320901(1984). However, even though the reviewing court conducts its own review, a master’s report and recommendation are to be given the fullest consideration, especially with regard to the credibility of witnesses. Goodman, 544 A.2d at 1035. Mother argues that the support obligation should be modified to reflect that she only works an average of 5.5 hours per week and not 13 hours per week. Mother contends that the record and her pay stubs submitted at the support hearing show that she only worked an average of 5.5 hours per week. Father has not filed a response to Mother’s exceptions. The monthly gross income of the parties is ordinarily based upon at least a six- month average of a party’s income. Income includes wages and salaries. Pa.R.C.P. 1910.16-2(a). At the Support Hearing, Mother was asked what her average monthly income was. She responded: The gross per pay is $154.91. So if you multiply that by two, it’s about $300. The net per pay is $128.89. If you multiply that by two, that would 12 be per month $240 or something like that. 11 Report at 8-10 7 There was no testimony to contradict Mother’s average hours of work presented at the hearing. Mother also presented an income statement where she stated her gross pay 13 per pay period is $154.91, with a bi-weekly pay period. Mother is paid $12 per hour. In addition to the income statement, Mother presented pay stubs at the Support Hearing. Mother’s pay stubs are bi-weekly and indicate that she works at least an average of 5.5 hours per pay period, if not less. For example, over the 2014 year, 14 Mother had worked 225 hours by the pay period ending December 21, 2014. Mother 15 testified that she had been employed at her current position a little over a year. Mother’s pay stubs clearly indicate that Mother did not work 13 hours per week within the last six months. As Mother has demonstrated that she works an average of 5.5 hours per week the support calculation will be modified accordingly. With this change to Mother’s income and Father’s income remaining the same, the basic child support obligation is increased to $778.76 per month. The spousal support obligation is increased to $375.54 per month. Mother’s exception is granted and the following order will be entered: th AND NOW this 8 day of September, 2015, upon consideration of Plaintiff, Rebecca M. Popp’s, Exceptions to Support Master’s Report and Recommendations, Plaintiff’s brief, and noting that Defendant did not file a brief and neither party requested oral argument; 12 N.T. at 12 13 Pl. Ex. 1 from Support Hearing 14 Pl. Ex. 2 from Support Hearing 15 N.T. at 11; Report 8 IT IS HEREBY ORDERED AND DIRECTED that Plaintiff, Rebecca M. Popp’s, GRANTED Exceptions to Support Master’s Report and Recommendations are . The Recommendations are amended as follows: A. Father shall pay to the Pennsylvania State Collection and Disbursement Unit as support for his children, Agnes J. Popp, born April 19, 2014, and Noah B. Popp, born December 7, 2011, the sum of $778.76 per month. E. Father shall pay to the Pennsylvania State Collection and Disbursement Unit as support for his wife, Rebecca M. Popp, the sum of $375.54 per month. H. The monthly support obligation includes cash medical support in the amount of $250.00 annually for unreimbursed medical expenses incurred for the children. Unreimbursed medical expenses of each child that exceed $250.00 annually shall be allocated between the parties. The party seeking allocation of unreimbursed medical expenses must provide documentation of expenses to the st other party no later than March 31 of the year following the calendar year in which the final medical bill to be allocated was received. The unreimbursed medical expenses are to be paid as follows: 90% by Father and 10% by Mother. All other Recommendations remain the same. The Interim Order dated February 12, IS HEREBY MADE FINAL 2015, as modified above, . By the Court, ___________________________ M. L. Ebert, Jr., J. Paul Primrose, Esquire Counsel for Plaintiff Jason A. Popp Defendant 9