QUESTION
Will a judge impute income to my ex-husband who is unemployed while in law school?
Asked on Mar 07th, 2012 on Child Support - Michigan
More details to this question:
My ex-husband is in his first year of law school. He lives 180 miles away and sees our 2 kids every other weekend. He pays no child support and provides nothing financially for the kids. During our marriage, he had a job that paid about 60k but was fired from it in 2008. I supported him for 2 years while he finished his bachelors degree, then we divorced. I make about 64k now but I am footing the bills from shared marital expenses unrelated to the kids, and regardless I don''t think just because I have income I am required to take on his reponsibility for his kids while he takes three years off to get his law degree. Is a judge going to see it my way and impute him income & order payments to accrue during his time in law school?
1 ANSWER
The court has the ability and authority to impute income for calculation of child support if the circumstances warrant the same. Specifically, if your ex voluntarily quit his job then the court may order him to pay based on the salary he was making, but imputation cases are few and far between in the current economy. It sounds like your ex has the ability to be employed in some capacity but is choosing to delay employment in order to avoid paying support. Unfortunately, you may have a more difficult time getting the court to impute income now if your ex has been unemployed since the time of your divorce and there are no other changes in circumstance. This response is general in nature is not legal advice. I would need more information about your specific circumstances in order to better answer your questions.
Patricia Kasody-Coyle Esq.
(248) 594-9991
Answered on Mar 08th, 2012 at 11:36 AM