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NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION
STATE OF LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF NO. 01-CA-959 SOCIAL SERVICES AND SUSAN WENDLING
FIFTH CIRCUIT  
VERSUS  
CCUkr y  COURT OF APPEAL  
STEVEN WENDLING RETH  c  
STATE OF LOUISIANA  

APPEAL FROM THE JUVENILE COURT
PARISH OF JEFFERSON, STATE OF LOUISIANA
NO. 90-NS-324, DIVISION "B"
HONORABLE ANDREA PRICE JANZEN, JUDGE PRESIDING

CLARENCE E. McMANUS JUDGE
JANUARY 15, 2002
Court composed of Judges Thomas F. Daley, Marion F. Edwards and Clarence E. McManus
Paul D. Connick, Jr. District Attorney Joseph R. McMahon Alan D. Alario II Assistant District Attorney Juvenile Court 1542 Gretna, Boulevard Harvey, Louisiana 70058 Counsel for State
Donald A. Sauviac, Jr. 3433 Metairie Heights Avenue Metairie, Louisiana 70002 Counsel for appellant
AFFIRMED
The Defendant, Steven Wendling, appeals the judgment of the Juvenile Court for the Parish of Jefferson granting a Rule to Increase Child Support. For the reasons set forth below, the judgment is affirmed.
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Plaintiff, Susan Wendling was married to Steven Wendling. Christine Wendling was the only child born of that marriage. Christine was born on August 23, 1989. On December 19, 1991, Susan Wendling filed a Petition for Child Support in Juvenile Court. The original amount of support was set at $222.00. This amount was ultimately reduced to $149.57 in 1998. On July 25, 2000, Susan Wendling filed a Rule to Increase Child Support. Based on Steven Wendling's increase in income and Christine's need for mental health intervention, the Juvenile Court found that there was a legitimate change in circumstances to support the Rule for Increase. Accordingly, the Juvenile Court increased the amount of support to $333.53 per month. The Juvenile Court also found Steven Wendling to be in arrears for medical expenses in the amount of $1,740.00, to be paid off in $10 monthly installments.
LAW AND ANALYSIS
On appeal, Steven Wendling assigns the following assignments of error:
1) the Juvenile Court abused its discretion in refusing to deduct the amount paid on another
child support order from Steven Wendling's gross income.
2) The Juvenile Court abused its discretion in adding extraordinary medical expenses
incurred on behalf of Christine into the child support order.
-2-

Concerning assignment of error number one, Steven Wendling claims he should get a credit
in the calculation of his gross income for a $575.00 child support order from Orleans Parish.
The amount of support that Steven Wendling pays for the two children in Orleans Parish is
$575.00 per month. Steven Wendling also pays a total of $110.00 per month in health insurance
that covers all three children. The State argues that the Juvenile Court did not abuse its
discretion in denying Steven Wendling an adjustment for another support order because the
record does not show that the order was preexisting.
The statute at issue in this case is La. R.S. 9:315(1), which defines adjusted gross income as
gross income, "minus amounts forpreexisting child support or spousal support obligations paid
to another who is not a party to the proceedings." (Emphasis added). To receive this credit or
adjustment to gross income, Steven Wendling must show that the child support order from
Orleans Parish preexisted the child support order from Juvenile Court in Jefferson Parish. There
appears to be confusion in the interpretation of the term "preexisting" in La. R.S. 9:315(1).
The two children in Orleans Parish are four and five, and their child support payments began in 1998. Christine is eleven years old. Steven Wendling started paying child support for Christine in 1991. He started paying child support in Orleans Parish in 1998. It is clear that the order for child support in Jefferson Parish came seven years before the order for child support in Orleans Parish. By any definition of the term "pre-existing," the order in Jefferson Parish came before that from Orleans Parish. This makes sense logically, as the birth of Christine preceded the birth of Steven Wendling's children in Orleans Parish. Accordingly, we see no error in the trial court's determination of Steven Wendling's gross income.
We also agree with the trial court that Steven Wendling's recourse lies in the courts of Orleans Parish. When Steven Wendling was ordered to pay child support for the two children in Orleans Parish, he could have gotten a credit for the preexisting child support order for Christine. The child support order for Christine is the "preexisting" child support obligation vis-

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Louisiana Law