In Re Marriage of Carlsen

In the course of responding to Donald Carlsen's motion to modify their visitation agreement, Lynnette Berry moved to modify Carlsen's child support obligation. Based on the declarations of the parties, the trial court awarded an increase in child support from $950 to $2,029 per month. Without benefit of a statement of decision, Carlsen appeals. In the published part of the opinion, we agree the trial court improperly credited Berry with a hardship allowance (Fam. Code, §§ 4071-4073; undesignated section references will be to this code), but reject Carlsen's claim that the court violated section 4057.5 when it considered the income of Berry's new spouse in determining the tax rate to which Berry's income would actually be subject. In the unpublished part, we reject his claim the trial court erred in failing to depart from the support guidelines prescribed by section 4055. We shall reverse.

According to the minute order for the initial hearing, "Court makes findings as to the father's income. The issue of child support is taken under submission. Counsel will provide the court with points and authorities."

Berry's posthearing briefing did not identify any issue of financial…