Self employment

[Ref]

Hi Soc

I just lost my job and I am trying to figure out my options. I have no college degree but I have been in my industry for 10 years. I am in sales. I lost my job because my company closed the office on my coast.

There are many of my and my coworker's customers that will not be able to be serviced anymore because of our office closing. There are a few other companies that do what my old company did around in the area and I know most of the players. Unfortunatley, it is a very competative industry and I don't think I will get a job at the other companies making the money that I did.

I think my best option is to keep my customers and start a business with my coworker. He is already putting wheels in motion and I have contacted many of my customers to inform them of the change and they are enthusiastic about continuing working with me. As a matter of fact, my cellphone still keeps ringing from old customers looking for me to help them out. I haven't been able to enjoy any of my unemployment yet.

The problem I am having is that I have been employed and responsible with my CS for the entirety of my divorced life and before. My ex decided she didn't feel like working and lived off my suppot for years. Last time she went for an increase in support I had them impute her income.

I am sure she will use this trick against me now that I have filed for a reduction. Most of the ads that I have seen for sales jobs state that they require a degree, of which I don't have.  Some do not require this but they are either door-to-door knife selling scams or they pay substantially less than what I was making. I would very much like to make an attempt with this business.

The state is Florida.

1. Do I have to prove that I couldn't make the money I was before, or is the burden on my ex to prove that I can?

2. I would hate to circulate my resume in the industry because I intend on being a competitor, is there another way for me to prove I am not trying to loaf?

3. Any advice on setting up a company to protect my interests?

4. How long does the court typically allow a parent to pull themselves back up after something like this without imputing income? ( I think I will be unemployed for about 3 months).

Thanks
Ref

[socrateaser]

>1. Do I have to prove that I couldn't make the money I was
>before, or is the burden on my ex to prove that I can?

You are asking for a reduction, therefore it falls to you to show that your actual income has decreased through no fault of your own. Once you do this, the burden shifts to your ex to prove that you can earn more than you are presently doing in the existing market, based upon your talent, ability, and the existence of employment comensurate with your talent and ability, and proof that you refuse to make good faith efforts to obtain such employment.

Courts are naturally very skeptical of an obligor parent who is not aggressively seeking to replace his lost income with equal or better, so although it is not your burden to show that you can earn more, it won't take much from your ex to shift the burden back to you to prove that no work exists, and that you are making good faith efforts to find suitable employment.

So, let's say that your ex provides evidence of jobs in the marketplace roughly equivalent to what you were doing before. Now, you need a response as to why you haven't applied for those jobs. If you show that you have actually applied for jobs and that failing to obtain work, you have now created a written business plan to start a company with a coworker and that you are aggressively pursuing customers, and that there is a reasonable probability that you will obtain customers and that you will be able to replace your lost income to roughly equate with the job wages that you could reasonably earn in the current market, then the court should cut you some slack and let you try for a while.

But, I wouldn't count on being given more than say 90 days to demonstrate that you have customers and income, and during that time, I guarantee that you will be ordered to pay support at minimum wage rates.

It's a sad state of affairs, frankly, and it may be an unconstitutional infringement of your liberty interest in seeking the work of your choice. But, this is one of those family law issues that basically destroys your fundamental rights in favor of the state's interest in the child, and if you fight that steamroller, you'll inevitably get crushed by it. No one has any simpathy for a father who's not busting his ass every second to pay for his child (except those who come to this website, of course).

>2. I would hate to circulate my resume in the industry because
>I intend on being a competitor, is there another way for me to
>prove I am not trying to loaf?

Nope. The only thing that you can do is offer to pay support from your savings/assets at a higher rate while you try to get your business going, as a demonstration of good faith to the court.

>3. Any advice on setting up a company to protect my
>interests?

I don't know anything about your business interest, so I can't advise.

>4. How long does the court typically allow a parent to pull
>themselves back up after something like this without imputing
>income? ( I think I will be unemployed for about 3 months).

That's about how long you've got, in my opinion -- 90 days.