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IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA No. 1-719 / 11-0446 Filed October 19, 2011 IN RE THE MARRIAGE OF MARY ELIZABETH LANGE AND CALVIN J. LANGE Upon the Petition of MARY ELIZABETH LANGE, n/k/a MARY ELIZABETH FOWLER, Petitioner-Appellee, And Concerning CALVIN J. LANGE, Respondent-Appellant. ________________________________________________________________ Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Humboldt County, Thomas J. Bice, Judge.

A father appeals the district court's order modifying the parties' dissolution decree on the issues of child support, visitation, and tax exemptions. AFFIRMED AS MODIFIED.

Dan T. McGrevey, Fort Dodge, for appellant. Dani L. Eisentrager of Eisentrager Law Office, Eagle Grove, for appellee.

Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., Tabor, J., and Miller, S.J.* *Senior judge assigned by order pursuant to Iowa Code section 602.9206 (2011).

2 MILLER, S.J. I. Background Facts & Proceedings

Calvin Lange and Mary Lange, now known as Mary Fowler, were previously married. They had three minor children, T.L., born in 1999, J.L., born in 2000, and S.L., born in 2001. A dissolution decree was entered for the parties on February 1, 2005, which incorporated the parties' stipulation. Pursuant to the stipulation, Mary had physical care of the children. Calvin had visitation on

alternating weekends, Wednesday evenings, alternating holidays, and for five weeks in the summer. He was ordered to pay child support of $548 per month for the three children. Calvin was awarded the tax exemption for J.L., Mary had the tax exemption for S.L., and the parties alternated the exemption for T.L. On March 18, 2009, Calvin filed a petition for modification asking that the children be placed in his physical care. He alleged Mary's then-boyfriend,

Christopher Fowler (Chris), had physically and sexually abused the children. Mary and Chris were married in April 2009, and he moved into the home. The modification hearing was held on May 19, 2010. At that time Calvin was thirty-six years old. He lived in a home owned by his live-in girlfriend,

Rhonda Meyer, in Humboldt, Iowa. Calvin was employed as an assembler at Chantland's, where he earned $26,595 in 2009. Mary was also thirty-six years old at the time of the modification hearing. She lived in Jewell, Iowa, with her husband, Chris. Mary operated a daycare out of her home, and earned about $15,000 per year.

3 The district court denied the request to modify the dissolution decree. Calvin appealed the district court's decision. On December 22, 2010, the Iowa Court of Appeals reversed the district court's decision and remanded for further proceedings. See In re Marriage of Lange, No. 10-0905 (Iowa Ct. App. Dec. 22, 2010). The court determined the children should be placed in the physical care of Calvin because Mary "ha[d] not put their best interests first." Id. The court concluded, "This modification necessitates a remand for the district court to make the attendant orders such as child support and visitation." Id. By a court order, Calvin's child support obligation terminated on December 31, 2010. A hearing on remand was held on February 8, 2011. Mary testified that in 2010 she earned $11,459 from her daycare. Mary asserted that if she had extraordinary visitation her child support obligation would be $82.50 per month, and if she did not receive extraordinary visitation her child support obligation would be $110 per month. Calvin testified that he earned more than $30,000 in 2010. His child support worksheet was based on the parties ' incomes in 2009, and he requested that Mary be ordered to pay $218 per month. The district court entered an order on February 15, 2011, finding "that a compromise figure for child support would be appropriate and therefore order[ed] that the sum of $150.00 per month shall be paid by Mary for child support," beginning March 1, 2011.1 The court determined Calvin would have the right to claim two children for tax exemptions in 2011, and Mary would claim one of the children. This would be reversed in the next year, so that Mary would be able to

1

The amount of child support would be reduced to $100 per month for two children, and fifty dollars per month for one child.

4 claim two of the children, and Calvin one, and alternating in this manner in subsequent years.2 Mary was granted visitation on alternating weekends,

Wednesday evenings, alternating holidays, and five weeks in the summer. The court determined Mary would not be required to return items that the children had requested to take when they moved to Calvin's house. Calvin filed a motion pursuant to Iowa Rule of Civil Procedure 1.904(2). The court ordered Mary to contribute to the children's uncovered medical expenses. The court amended the visitation schedule to give Calvin "one full week in the summer when he can have the children without visitation or contact by [Mary]." The court denied Calvin's requests on the issues of retroactive child support, tax exemptions, holiday visitation, and transfer of the children 's items. Calvin appealed the decision of the district court. II. Standard of Review Iowa R. App P. 6.907. We

In equity cases our review is de novo.

examine the entire record and adjudicate the parties' rights anew on the issues properly presented on appeal. In re Marriage of Maher, 596 N.W.2d 561, 564 (Iowa 1999). In equity cases, we give weight to the fact findings of the district court, especially when considering the credibility of witnesses, but are not bound by them. Iowa R. App P. 6.904(3)(g).

2

When only two children were eligible for support, then each parent would be able to claim one child as a tax exemption. When only one child was left for tax exemption purposes, the parties would alternate years of claiming that child, with Calvin having the right to claim the child in the first year.

5 III. A. Child Support Calvin contends Mary's child support obligation should be He claims the most reliable evidence of her

increased to $218 per month.

income was her 2009 tax return, which showed her income was $15,178. He states that although she brought in an income tax return for 2010 showing her income for that year was $11,459, it had not actually been filed. Calvin also claims Mary's net income does not represent her actual income because she has taken accelerated depreciation and has made questionable deductions for tax purposes. Courts seek to ascertain the current monthly income of parents from the most reliable evidence presented. In re Marriage of Powell, 474 N.W.2d 531, 534 (Iowa 1991). Mary's 2010 tax return shows that it was prepared by a

certified public accountant (CPA). Mary testified that although she had not filed the tax return yet at the time of the hearing in February 2011, she planned to file it. The record does not show Mary was earning $15,000 per year at the time of the remand hearing. We agree with the district court that the evidence does not support Calvin's request to require Mary to pay $218 per month in child support. Furthermore, the district court did not use Mary's income as represented on the 2010 tax return. Instead of ordering her to pay $110 per month as she requested, the court ordered her to pay $150 per month in child support. We believe the court's adjustment was based on Mary's use of accelerated depreciation and questionable deductions to reduce her net income. We affirm the district court's order as to the amount of child support.

6 B. Calvin also appeals the timing of Mary's child support obligation.

He points out he received physical care of the children effective December 22, 2010, the date of the Iowa Court of Appeals ruling, and was given financial responsibility for the children on the same date. He claims "[f]rom that date forward until the remand ruling, Calvin has been solely responsible for the financial well-being of these children, without any contribution from Mary. " He asks to have Mary's child support obligation begin January 1, 2011. See Iowa Code

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