Brown v. Brown, 423 S.W.3d 784

Father appeals guardian ad litem (GAL) fees awarded for preparing and filing a brief in his prior appeal from a post-dissolution custody judgment.
Father argues the GAL had no authority to participate in an appeal or, if authority existed, the fees are not supported by substantial evidence.
The GAL was appointed for trial court custody proceedings; a 2011 trial court judgment ordered Father to pay GAL fees.
The GAL moved to secure costs on appeal in 2011; the trial court allowed funds to be advanced into a trust account for the appellate work.
Father did not challenge the GAL’s participation in the first appeal at the trial court or Court of Appeals, and did not preserve the fee-evidence issue for review.
The Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court; a 2012 payout judgment awarded GAL fees, which Father challenged in this appeal.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Authority of GAL to participate in appeal	Brown argues no authority to participate in the appeal.	Hendrix asserts statutory/constitutional authority for GAL participation per applicable provisions.	Issue precluded; Brown failed to preserve at trial or appellate levels.
Evidence supporting GAL fee award	Brown contends no substantial evidence supports the fee amount.	Hendrix contends the trial court may fix GAL fees without additional evidence.	Not reviewable; Brown failed to preserve the issue for appellate review.
Preservation of error and remedy timing	Brown could challenge on appeal; error was preserved in the trial court.	Hendrix argues proper preservation did not occur due to failure to raise or object timely.	Brown failed to preserve the issue via timely objections or record-based challenges.

Murphy v. Carron, 536 S.W.2d 30 (Mo. banc 1976) (standard for appellate review of trial court decisions)
Pollard v. Whitener, 965 S.W.2d 281 (Mo.App.1998) (requirement to raise issues at trial to preserve for appeal)
In re the Adoption of J.A.D., 417 S.W.3d 327 (Mo.App.2013) (preservation and preservation-related principles)
In the Interest of S.R.J., Jr. v. S.R.J., Sr., 250 S.W.3d 402 (Mo.App.2008) (preservation and appellate review standards)
American Tobacco Co., 34 S.W.3d 129 (Mo.App.2000) (preservation of error and trial-to-appeal transition)
Clark v. Clark, 101 S.W.3d 323 (Mo.App.2003) (trial court may fix guardian ad litem fees without evidence)
Wightman v. Wightman, 295 S.W.3d 183 (Mo.App.2009) (evidentiary support issues and preservation)
Basham v. Williams, 239 S.W.3d 717 (Mo.App.2007) (fee accounting distinctions in GAL matters)
In Morrison, 987 S.W.2d 475 (Mo.App.1999) (treatment of guardian ad litem proceedings)
Lindell v. Coen, 896 S.W.2d 525 (Mo.App.1995) (trial court expertise in fixing fees)