Smith v. Smith
Court of Civil Appeals of Oklahoma
67 P.3d 351 (Okla. Civ. App. 2002)
After Stephen Smith's (defendant) income rose to $46,015 monthly against ex-wife Judith's (plaintiff) $6,419, and the state's guidelines provided no formula above a combined $15,000 monthly income (requiring only the $15,000-level percentage plus a court-determined additional amount), the trial court calculated support by applying that lower-income percentage (9.15%) directly to the couple's full $52,434 combined income, yielding nearly $4,800 monthly -- far exceeding the child's documented $3,355.90 in monthly expenses.
Whether a court may deviate from statutory child support guidelines if the non-custodial spouse's income is so high that child support based on a mathematical formula in the guidelines at a lower income level will result in an unnecessarily exorbitant child support award that effectively redistributes wealth to the custodial parent.