Alan W. Dillon v. Heather Gilotti-Dillon

── Alan W. Dillon v. Heather Gilotti-Dillon ── Case No.: CL-2025-0546 Court: Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama Date: March 20, 2026 Author: Chad Hanson Category: General Rel: March 20, 2026 Notice: This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in the advance sheets of Southern Reporter. Readers are requested to notify the Reporter of Decisions, Alabama Appellate Courts, 300 Dexter Avenue, Montgomery, Alabama 36104-3741 ((334) 229-0650), of any typographical or other errors, in order that corrections may be made before the opinion is published in Southern Reporter. ALABAMA COURT OF CIVIL APPEALS OCTOBER TERM, 2025-2026 _________________________ CL-2025-0546 _________________________ Alan W. Dillon v. Heather Gilotti-Dillon Appeal from Baldwin Circuit Court (DR-24-900048) HANSON, Judge. Alan W. Dillon ("the husband") appeals from a judgment entered by the Baldwin Circuit Court ("the trial court") divorcing him from Heather Gilotti-Dillon ("the wife"). The sole issue is whether the trial court properly calculated child support. CL-2025-0546 Facts and Procedural History The wife married the husband in 2021. The wife had two children from her previous marriage to Jonathon Gilotti, who died in 2016. The husband and the wife had signed a prenuptial agreement before their marriage.1 The husband adopted the children following their marriage. On January 12, 2024, the wife filed a complaint seeking a divorce. She sought custody of the children and child support. On January 15, 2024, the husband filed an answer and a counterclaim for a divorce. The parties informed the trial court that they had entered into a partial settlement as to all issues except child support and insurance. They agreed that the wife would have custody of the children, with the husband having visitation rights. On March 24, 2025, the trial court held a hearing on child support and insurance. At the hearing, counsel for the husband asked for a deviation from the child-support guidelines under Rule 32, Ala. R. Jud. Admin., based on Social Security survivor benefits that the children 1The prenuptial agreement was not included in the record. In its judgment, the trial court stated that the prenuptial agreement dictated the disposition of the parties' debt, credit-card accounts, bank accounts, retirement plans, real property, and personal property and addressed alimony. 2 CL-2025-0546 received as a result of their biological father's death. After hearing arguments from the parties' counsel, the trial court stated that it was not inclined to deviate from the child-support guidelines. Subsequently, the wife testified that the parties lived in Baldwin County, that they wanted a divorce, and that she agreed with the terms of the partial settlement. On April 10, 2025, the trial court entered its final judgment ordering the husband to pay $1,088 per month in child support based on the child-support guidelines, without including a deviation from those guidelines. On April 15, 2025, the husband filed a motion to alter, amend, or vacate the judgment. In his motion, the husband argued, in pertinent part: "5. The Court used [the wife's] employment income and [the husband's] retirement and Veteran's Administration benefits in order to calculate child support. The guidelines reflect that [the wife's] income was $6,726 and [the husband's] income was $6,903 for a combined monthly gross income of $13,629. [The wife's] share of the income is 49% and [the husband's] share is 51%. The basic child support obligation is $2,112 for the two minor children. [The wife] incurs a health care cost of $50 per mont