D. H. v. J. H.
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
Date FiledJanuary 20, 2021
Docket2D19-3968
StatusPublished
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Full Opinion
NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO FILE REHEARING
MOTION AND, IF FILED, DETERMINED
IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL
OF FLORIDA
SECOND DISTRICT
D.H., )
)
Appellant, )
v. ) Case No. 2D19-3968
)
J.H., )
)
Appellee. )
)
Opinion filed January 20, 2021.
Appeal from the Circuit Court for
Hillsborough County; Darren D. Farfante,
Judge.
D.H., pro se.
J. Michael Shea of Saint Michaels' Legal
Center for Women and Children, Inc.,
Ruskin, for Appellee.
LUCAS, Judge.
In this paternity dispute, D.H., the father, challenges the circuit court's
determination of his child support obligation for his two minor children. The case was
litigated over the course of two years and culminated in three days of trial in 2018. A
little more than nine months later, on August 2, 2019, the circuit court entered the
judgment now before us. On the record we have been provided, we do not believe the
amount of time that elapsed between the conclusion of the trial and the entry of the
judgment was so excessive as to warrant reversal of the judgment. However, we agree
with D.H. that the judgment failed to include sufficient findings as to how the court
reached the figure it utilized to calculate D.H.'s income. Moreover, the judgment was
silent as to J.H., the mother's, income. We must, therefore, reverse the judgment and
remand for the circuit court to make the requisite findings regarding the parties'
respective incomes and, if necessary, to recalculate the child support award
accordingly. See Carmack v. Carmack, 277 So. 3d 185, 186 (Fla. 2d DCA 2019);
Whittingham v. Whittingham, 67 So. 3d 239, 239-40 (Fla. 2d DCA 2010); Wilcox v.
Munoz, 35 So. 3d 136, 139 (Fla. 2d DCA 2010).
Reversed and remanded with instructions.
NORTHCUTT and ROTHSTEIN-YOUAKIM, JJ., Concur.
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