Rumley-Miawama v. Miawama

Cherree Rumley-Miawama Wife instituted a divorce action against Dider Francis Miawama Husband. After conducting a bench trial, the trial court entered a final divorce decree awarding joint legal custody of the parties’ minor child, and granting primary physical custody to Husband and secondary physical custody to Wife. If Wife continues to reside in Georgia, she is required to pay $1597.22 per month in child support and is entitled to visitation on alternating weeks so that both parents spend equal amounts of time with the child. If Wife moves out of Georgia, she will be entitled to visitation on three-day federal holiday weekends, Thanksgiving, and December 26 through January 4, and for two months during the summer. Wife filed a motion for new trial. The trial court denied the motion and wife applied for discretionary review, which was granted pursuant to this Court’s Pilot Project for domestic relations cases. 1. Wife contends that the trial court erred in failing to recognize and exercise its discretion to apply a deviation from the child support guidelines based upon equal parenting time.

The revised child support guidelines in OCGA § 19-6-15 are applicable, as this case was tried and judgment was entered after January 1, 2007, the effective date of the revision. Compare Messaadi v. Messaadi , 282 Ga. 126, 128 2 646 SE2d 230 2007. The 2008 amendments to OCGA § 19-6-15 do not apply, as they did not become effective until July 1, 2008. See Messaadi v. Messaadi , supra.