Divorce proceedings are often complex, particularly when it comes to determining spousal support and child support. Both spouses must accurately report their income and expenses for these determinations. When one or both spouses fail to properly account for their income or expenses or deliberately pursue unemployment or underemployment to deflate support obligations, imputation can be considered an equalizer to rebalance the marital financial scales.
If you believe your spouse quit his or her job deliberately, is willfully underemployed, or failed to report his or her income and expenses accurately, it is time to speak to an experienced Wheaton, IL divorce lawyer. Your attorney can help you determine the best way to present these issues to the court and receive an equitable amount of spousal support or child support.
How Is Imputed Income Determined?
Imputed income allows a family court to ensure the right amount of support is ordered, even when the financial disclosures provided are unreliable. If the judge believes that one spouse deliberately quit a well-paying job so he or she would not have to pay as much child support or spousal support, the judge will impute income.