JOHNSON VS. JOHNSON (CHILD SUPPORT)

Key holdings

Practitioner summary

The court affirmed a judgment enforcing a divorce decree's provision requiring the father to pay each child's college expenses. Where a party fails to object below to the form or content of documents offered in support of a motion (here, informational letters from college deans and the child's written statement of expenses), the party's acquiescence waives any later challenge; an objection raised for the first time on appeal that the papers were not in affidavit form comes too late. Grouse Creek Ranches v. Budget Financial Corp., 87 Nev. 419, 488 P.2d 917 (1971); Scapecchi v. Harold's Club, 78 Nev. 290, 371 P.2d 815 (1962). Affirmed.

In plain language

A divorce decree gave the mother custody of seven children, provided for their support, and ordered the father to pay each child's college expenses. The mother later asked the court to compel the father to pay the college expenses of the oldest child, supporting her request with informational letters from college deans about the child's academic standing and the child's own written statement of expenses. The father, his lawyer, and the mother's lawyer all appeared at the hearing, and no one objected to the form or content of those documents. The court entered judgment against the father for the college expenses. On appeal, the father argued for the first time that the court should not have considered the supporting papers because they were not sworn affidavits. The Nevada Supreme Court held the objection came too late - by failing to object at the hearing, the father waived the point - and affirmed the judgment.