Michael Samuel Todd appeals from the trial court’s child support modification order. He asserts that the trial court erred in ordering child support contributions in an amount equivalent to 54 percent of his income. For the reasons discussed below, we agree and reverse. No hearing transcript was prepared, but the trial court made the following findings of fact:1 Todd was divorced from Mary Irene Todd in 1999, and the couple has three children, one of whom has reached majority. The two minor children reside with their mother. The father was ordered to pay child support to the mother under the original divorce decree. Since the divorce, the father has suffered material changes in his income and financial status, due to serious health problems he suffers stemming from a fall he experienced during the term of the marriage. The father filed a petition for a downward modification of his support obligation and announced that he planned to move back to Gwinnett County to be near his children. Afterwards, the mother quit her full-time position with the Gwinnett County school system, which earned her $1,988 per month, and sold her fully-paid-for home for $128,000, which she invested in a new home in Virginia. The mother then moved with the two minor children to Virginia, where she has a part-time job that pays $800 per month. To reach the mother’s new residence the father must drive six-and-one-half hours from Gwinnett County.
The father has been rated with permanent total disability by the Social Security Administration, from which he receives monthly payments of $980 in disability income and $522 dependency support, the latter of which is mailed directly to the mother. Although disabled, he is allowed to work part-time, and in 2002 earned a total of $4,165, but this amount has been decreasing each year. The father testified and presented supporting documentation that he is physically unable to work except on an occasional basis. His work involves the purchase and repair of damaged cars for re-sale, as well as the occasional odd job. The father testified that he is in such pain from working that he is unable to work for several days afterwards, and he is on various prescription medicines for pain. The mother acknowledged the father was suffering, but believed that he could perform the job as a cashier at a retail store.
