County of Lake v. Antoni

Opinion

CHIN, J.

The County of Lake (County) appeals from a child support order that set respondent Gerald Anthony Antoni’s support payment obligation at less than file presumptive amount under Civil Code section 4721.

1

The County contends that the trial court erred by the way in which it considered Antoni’s support of his stepdaughter and his substantial consumer debt monthly payments. The trial court did not abuse its discretion; we affirm.

[1104]

Facts

No responding brief has been filed. Accordingly, we may accept the factual recitation of the opening brief as true while adhering to the requirement that the County affirmatively demonstrate prejudicial error despite the absence of a brief by Antoni. (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 17(b);

Miles

v.

Speidel

(1989) 211 Cal.App.3d 879, 881 [259 Cal.Rptr. 582].)

In June 1992, the County sought modification of an existing child support order filed in May 1983. The existing order required Antoni to pay $100 per month for the support of his 13-year-old son, Neil B., who lives with his mother, Jeanette B. Jeanette, a full-time nursing student who receives some limited scholarship funds, relies on Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) payments to support Neil.

Antoni has a net monthly income of $1,978. He is married and lives with his wife, his eight-year-old son, and his seventeen-year-old stepdaughter. In completing his income and expense declaration for the trial court, Antoni did not claim a hardship deduction for his eight-year-old son. (See § 4722, subd. (b).) Antoni’s declaration showed extensive personal debts for revolving credit accounts, department stores, and finance companies, some of which apparently represented expenditures for clothing and household articles. Those debts amounted to $41,444 and required monthly payments totaling $1,378. Antoni’s declaration showed total monthly expenses of $3,709, with his wife contributing to the household’s income through a temporary, seasonal job.