Marriage of Watrous CA5

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Barbara and Daniel were married on June 12, 1982, and separated on January 2, 2002—a marriage of 19½ years. They had four children together, all of whom were minors at the time of separation. Barbara and Daniel entered into a marital settlement agreement on September 8, 2004, which became the judgment of the trial court. In that judgment, Daniel was ordered to pay $5,000 per month in child support, continuing until each minor child either turned 18 years of age or (if still in high school at age 18) graduated from high school. The $5,000 child support obligation was blanket or unallocated, meaning that it was not broken down into specific sums as to each child. The judgment also required Daniel to pay Barbara the sum of $2,500 per month as spousal support. Unless otherwise indicated, all further statutory references are to the Family Code.

2. Subsequently, when the parties’ oldest son turned 18 and graduated from high school in May 2006, Daniel unilaterally reduced his monthly child support payment to $3,333 per month. Daniel admitted that he did not obtain leave of the court to reduce the amount he paid in child support. Later, when the…