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Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), this Memorandum Decision shall not be regarded as precedent or cited before any court except for the purpose of establishing the defense of res judicata, collateral estoppel, or the law of the case.

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: AMY K. NOE Allen Wellman NcNew Richmond, Indiana

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE: C. JACK CLARKSON Clarkson & Gulde, P.C. Rushville, Indiana

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
KENT WEBER, Appellant, vs. MICHELE M. WEBER, Appellee. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

No. 70A01-0608-CV-357

APPEAL FROM THE RUSH SUPERIOR COURT The Honorable Daniel Lee Pflum, Special Judge Cause No. 70D01-0402-DR-12

April 3, 2007 MEMORANDUM DECISION - NOT FOR PUBLICATION DARDEN, Judge

STATEMENT OF THE CASE Kent Weber ("Father") appeals the trial court's order in the dissolution of his marriage to Michele M. Weber ("Mother"). We affirm. ISSUES 1. Whether the trial court erred when it awarded custody of the parties' minor children, T. and B., to Mother. 2. Whether the trial court erred when it ordered Father to pay a portion of the attorney fees incurred by Mother. FACTS Father and Mother married September 2, 1989. Their daughter T. was born December 7, 1992, and their son B. was born April 1, 1996. In March of 2003, the parties bought an ambulance service business. Less than a year later, in early 2004, the business was failing. The parties were behind on their mortgage, and all of their utilities were in danger of being shut off. On February 5, 2004, Father moved out of the marital residence. On February 11, 2004, Mother filed a petition for dissolution of the marriage. On April 19, 2004, a preliminary provisional order granted Mother custody of the children and possession of the marital residence in Carthage, and ordered Father to pay $113 per week for child support. In the meantime, in early March, Father had moved with his girlfriend, Angel, to North Carolina to seek employment. Father began work in North Carolina in mid-March, 2004. At a hearing on May 24, 2004, Mother testified that Father had provided no funds 2

for support of the children since leaving the marital residence and had failed to pay child support as ordered. On June 3, 2004, the trial court reaffirmed its order for Father to make child support payments of $113.00 weekly. Mother's parents paid to bring the utility payments current for the marital residence and helped her buy groceries. Mother attempted to operate the business to support herself and the children. In late June of 2004, Father and his girlfriend moved back to Indiana. In late July, Mother filed a citation for contempt, alleging that Father had still not paid any child support. On September 3, 2004, upon motion from Father, 1 the trial court ordered that T. and B. commence counseling with Cindy Harcourt of Harcourt Counseling Services in Rushville, with payments to be shared by the parents. Mother's attempts to continue the operation of the ambulance service failed; faced with insuperable debts, she declared bankruptcy. In November of 2004, Mother began work at Rush Memorial Hospital in Rushville. When the children would arrive home from school, Mother's parents were at her Carthage home to care for them until her return. Mother made $9.50 per hour, taking home $126 weekly after deductions

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Indiana Law