Hills v. Hills

BISHOP, J. pro tem.

*

The plaintiff appeals from that portion of the judgment rendered March 24, 1964, which decrees; “Defendant is ordered and directed to pay to plaintiff Lillian J. Kennedy as guardian of said minor child, Robert Lynn Hills, the sum of $100.00 per month for the support and maintenance of said minor, payable on the first day of each month beginning July 1, 1965.” In the findings of fact, upon which the judgment was based, it appears that the minor, Robert, was born out of wedlock, and the defendant is his father. The faults found by the appellant with the judgment are two: it provides too small an amount; and its first payment is unduly postponed. We are affirming the judgment.

The opening words of section 196a, Civil Code, are: “The father as well as the mother, of an illegitimate child must give him support and education suitable to his circumstances. A civil suit to enforce such obligations may be maintained in behalf of a minor illegitimate child, by his mother or guardian, ...”

As already noted, the appellant takes the position that the trial court erred in setting the monthly payments for the care and custody of the plaintiff, as we shall refer to the minor, at so low a figure as $100. The principle that must govern our action is stated in

Kyne

v.

Kyne

(1945) 70 Cal.App.2d 80, 83 [160 P.2d 910, 912] : “In fixing the amount of the allowance the trial court necessarily has a wide discretion, and unless there has been an abuse of discretion the appellate court will not interfere with the determination of the trial court.”

There was evidence supporting the trial court’s findings that the defendant, although only a minor, had assets worth over $250,000 and " an annual income of approximately $10,000.00 per annum.” No finding appears as to the financial outgo of the defendant, but he testified that he helped his mother, a widow; that he himself was in the early stages of

[580]

obtaining a college education; and that he runs in the red about $300 per month. The trial court might well have concluded that a larger sum than $100 per month would have been justified, and as defendant’s son grows older a larger monthly amount may be required. We, however, cannot say that, under the circumstances, the trial judge abused the discretion that the law vested in him in determining that the sum of $100 was proper at this time.