Imputing Wages for custodial parent

[AnnetteN]

I am in MI and am the custodial parent.  I received paper work that my ex wants the support order modified and it states that I am voluntarily unemployed and asking that income be imputed.   I was laid off almost three years ago and have not worked since.  I did look although I never found something that made enough to justify paying for daycare.  Will the court impute a salary for me and how do they determine that?  There is little chance I am able to make my old salary again.  My ex also makes a lot more than he did at the time of the original order but also has another child he is now paying support on as well. 

[bloom6372]

I am in MI and am the custodial parent.  I received paper work that my ex wants the support order modified and it states that I am voluntarily unemployed and asking that income be imputed.   I was laid off almost three years ago and have not worked since.  I did look although I never found something that made enough to justify paying for daycare.  Will the court impute a salary for me and how do they determine that?  There is little chance I am able to make my old salary again.  My ex also makes a lot more than he did at the time of the original order but also has another child he is now paying support on as well. 

In MI, they can either impute your last salary, or if the Court feels 3 years it too long ago, they will impute a salary equal to your "earning potentional" based on your education and previous jobs. If you have a Bachelor's Degree, the lowest they will impute is full time minimum wage (or so said the FOC to my DH when he asked...) If you had one or more previous jobs that had a higher income than that, they may use one of those, or average those incomes.

[ocean]

Apply to some jobs and keep track so you bring it to court. Make a one page list of the places you have sent resumes too, had interviews, and what the pay would be. Go back as far as you can remember and do some recent ones.

The child that needs daycare, is that HIS child? If it is, he can be ordered to pay a percentage in order for you to work. If this is not his child, then he can say, you knew the situation and had another child.

What state are you in? Some states do not care if he had more children. If your child is older and had the child support order in first, then yours inputs first and second child should not come into play. (same situation, he knew he has a support order and had more children...)

[AnnetteN]

The first order was with me and then he got married right away when he had another child on the way.  There is a minimal amount, under $140 a month that was figured into our agreement for daycare.  There was at least three or four years I paid much more especially over the summer it was closer to $600 a month for full time daycare and never asked for the amount he paid to be raised. 

I originally went with what ever amount was set from the state child support formula and never asked for anything more.  Fortunately I am in a position with my new husband that not working is possible, its a little tight but worth it to be around more for my son before and after school and the summer with the current child support.  I want to be fair but I don't see how it would be in my son's best interest for me to be working full time again and sending him to before and after school care.  I just don't know how the court will look at this.  My ex has also wanted to lower the support ever since I got remarried because my husbands income, which is somewhere around what  he is currently making as well and because he has to pay support on his second child now as well.

[Simplydad]

The first order was with me and then he got married right away when he had another child on the way.  There is a minimal amount, under $140 a month that was figured into our agreement for daycare.  There was at least three or four years I paid much more especially over the summer it was closer to $600 a month for full time daycare and never asked for the amount he paid to be raised. 

I originally went with what ever amount was set from the state child support formula and never asked for anything more.  Fortunately I am in a position with my new husband that not working is possible, its a little tight but worth it to be around more for my son before and after school and the summer with the current child support.  I want to be fair but I don't see how it would be in my son's best interest for me to be working full time again and sending him to before and after school care.  I just don't know how the court will look at this.  My ex has also wanted to lower the support ever since I got remarried because my husbands income, which is somewhere around what  he is currently making as well and because he has to pay support on his second child now as well.

I think the additional information shed's some light on the situation.  From the outside looking in it seems to me that your ex is only tryign to get child support reduced because he now has to pay for a second child as well.  I am not going to pretend to know michigan law but I did a little resarch and hopefully some of this will help you.

First I found a link to Michigan's child support formula http://courts.michigan.gov/scao/resources/publications/manuals/focb/2004mcsfmanual.pdf (http://courts.michigan.gov/scao/resources/publications/manuals/focb/2004mcsfmanual.pdf)

1. Accourding to the formule imputed salary is based on a voluntary reduction of salary.  My interpretation is that this mostly applies to the non-custodial parent and their attempt to avoid paying child support.  According to the law it does state that both parents need to be employed but I do not see where it the parent's income is taken into condsideration to determing child support.  I just don't see how a person should pay less child support because the custodial parent makes more money.

I found a document that talks about imputing salary with case law.  It seems each instance talks the the person paying child support and their attempts to circumvent the law to avoid paying. http://www.dflaw.com/tasks/sites/deanfulkerson/assets/image/Mother%20Theresa%20(PJM).pdf (http://www.dflaw.com/tasks/sites/deanfulkerson/assets/image/Mother%20Theresa%20(PJM).pdf)

All of the information I can find on imputing salary deal with the person paying support.  I have not been able to find any instances where child support was decreased because the custodial parent did not have a job.

I hope this info helps. I am will continue researching and if I find someting I will post it here.

[AnnetteN]

Thank you very much for the help!  That seems to be what I am finding as well and it mostly relates to the the person paying child support. 

[gam]

Michigan can and will impute wages to both the custodial and non custodial parent. Michigan's child support formula is based on both parents income. The following is the Michigan Child support formula manual


The following is the section from the manual for potential income(imputing)

2.01(G) Potential Income

When a parent is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed, or has an unexercised

ability to earn, income includes the

potential income that parent could earn, subject to

that parent's actual ability.

(1) The amount of potential income imputed should be sufficient to bring that parent's

income up to the level it would have been if the parent had not voluntarily reduced

or waived income.

(a) The amount of potential income imputed (1) should not exceed the level it

would have been if there was no reduction in income, (2) not be based on more

than a 40 hour work week, and (3) not include potential overtime or shift

premiums.

(b) Imputation is not appropriate where an individual is employed full time (35 or

more hours per week) but has chosen to cease working additional hours (such

as leaving a second job or refusing overtime). But actual earnings for overtime,

second job, and shift premiums are considered income.§2.01(C)(1).

(2) Use relevant factors both to determine whether the parent in question has an actual

ability to earn and a reasonable likelihood of earning the potential income. To

figure the amount of potential income that parent could earn, consider the

following:

(a) Prior employment experience and history, including reasons for any

termination or changes in employment.

(b) Educational level and any special skills or training.

(c) Physical and mental disabilities that may affect a parent's ability to obtain or

maintain gainful employment.

(d) Availability for work (exclude periods when a parent could not work or seek

work, e.g., hospitalization, incarceration, debilitating illness, etc.).

(e) Availability of opportunities to work in the local geographical area.

(f) The prevailing wage rates in the local geographical area.

(g) Diligence exercised in seeking appropriate employment.

(h) Evidence that the parent in question is able to earn the imputed income.

(i) Personal history, including present marital status and present means of support.

(j) The presence of the parties' children in the parent's home and its impact on that

parent's earnings.

(k) Whether there has been a significant reduction in income compared to the

period that preceded the filing of the initial complaint or the motion for

modification.

(3) Imputation of potential income should account for the additional costs associated

with earning the potential income such as child care and taxes that a parent would

pay on the imputed income.

(4) The court makes the final determination whether imputing a potential income is

appropriate in a particular case.
[/FONT]

None of this applies just to the non custodial parent, it applies to both parents, even the one receiving the CS, they can and will impute income to the custodial parent. It's all in the Michigan Child Support Manual, link at top of my post.

In your first post you said you were laid off, fair enough, after all this is Michigan, jobs are hard to come by. But then in another of your posts, you say your in the position with your new husband that not working is possible. Nope the Michigan Formula does not work that way, that would be voluntarily unemployed or underemployed. Also since your child must be school age(deducting that by you saying before and after care) your cost for daycare is lowered during the school year. Yes in summer you may need full time care. But if they imputed you with minimum wage, childcare during school year and then full time during summer, they will say that minimum wage is enough to make to afford that much care.

Keep in mind to that on top of base support, your ex will be required to pay his portion of child care. His portion is figured in the child support formula. So say he was to make $50,000 a year and you were to make make $20,000, his portion would be much higher. They also take this percentage to medical insurance and uncovered medical expenses.

So your going to have to prove you were laid off, and you can't find other work. It's not likely you will win an argument on not being imputed because of cost of daycare, as your child does not need full time daycare year round, and even if you made minimum wage, the other parent will be paying a portion of daycare. So the court can find that you need to find a job and impute you on what you can make.

There is case law out there on the custodial parent being imputed, I've seen some cases before. Sorry don't remember the names of the cases and didn't save them, but they are there. My daughter is in a split situation, in Michigan, she is and was custodial parent, and they imputed her a wage.

It's possible to win your argument, but if your ex has a lawyer, and if he does his job, it's unlikely and you will be imputed. If I get a chance, I will see if I can locate any cases where the imputing has to do with the custodial parent and post them for you.

[gam]

Sorry it would not let me post the link to the Michigan Child Support Formula Manual, said I needed to have 5 posts.

I don't get that, cause I have had my account for sometime here, while I don't post often, I know I have posted more then 5 times. I do know they recently changed the forum over, so perhaps it took away posts counted to me.

Anyways, just google Michigan Child Support Formula Manual, and you will get links directly to the manual, sorry about that.

[tigger]

I don't get that, cause I have had my account for sometime here, while I don't post often, I know I have posted more then 5 times. I do know they recently changed the forum over, so perhaps it took away posts counted to me.

Just to clarify, there was a major crash and many posts were lost . . . not taken away intentionally.

[gam]

I don't get that, cause I have had my account for sometime here, while I don't post often, I know I have posted more then 5 times. I do know they recently changed the forum over, so perhaps it took away posts counted to me.

Just to clarify, there was a major crash and many posts were lost . . . not taken away intentionally.

Thanks for letting me know. At first I had to check my username, thought who's account did I sign onto, haha.