Eldridge v. Eldridge

Appellant Jill E. Eldridge Wife filed for divorce from appellee Joshua R. C. Eldridge Husband after more than seven years of marriage. Following a bench trial, the trial court issued a final judgment and decree of divorce the “decree”, in which it granted joint legal custody of the couple’s two children to both parents and primary physical custody to Wife; ordered Husband to pay $1379 per month in child support; assigned to Wife responsibility for her student loans; and adopted its own parenting plan. We granted Wife’s application for discretionary review pursuant to this Court’s Rule 34 4. We conclude that the trial court erred 1 in its determination of child support by failing to make mandatory written findings in granting a deviation and in applying an incorrect conversion factor in calculating Wife’s monthly child care costs and 2 in adopting a parenting plan that fails to specify when Husband’s weekend visitation begins and ends. Accordingly, we reverse in part, affirm in part, and remand with direction.

1. Wife argues that the trial court improperly attributed to Husband a gross monthly income of $5491.04 in determining his child support obligations. “In the appellate review of a bench trial, this Court will not set aside the trial court’s factual findings unless they are clearly erroneous,” and “since the clearly erroneous test is the same as the any evidence rule, we will not disturb factfindings of the trial court if there is any evidence to sustain them.” Citation and punctuation omitted. Patel v. Patel, 285 Ga. 391, 391-392 1 677 SE2d 114 2009.