Your spouse quit their job the moment you filed for divorce. Or maybe they’ve been unemployed for years despite being perfectly capable of working. Now they’re asking for spousal support based on having no income while you continue working full time. The situation feels fundamentally unfair, and courts agree. Judges can impute income to spouses who are voluntarily unemployed or deliberately underemployed.
Our friends at The Spagnola Law Firm help clients through various situations. The Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks employment data that courts use when determining earning capacity for support calculations. A strategic divorce lawyer knows how to present evidence of voluntary unemployment and argue for imputed income that reflects what your spouse could and should be earning.
What Imputed Income Means
Imputed income is the amount courts assign to someone for support calculation purposes based on their earning capacity rather than their actual earnings. When your spouse chooses not to work or deliberately takes a lower-paying job to reduce support obligations, judges can calculate support as if they were earning what they’re capable of making.
This legal doctrine prevents people from gaming the system by becoming voluntarily unemployed or underemployed to avoid financial responsibilities. Courts recognize that some spouses manipulate their income specifically to affect support calculations. Imputing income levels the playing field and creates fair outcomes based on realistic earning potential.
The burden of proof typically falls on the spouse requesting imputed income. You need to demonstrate that your spouse is capable of working, that jobs are available in their field, and that their unemployment or underemployment is voluntary rather than the result of legitimate barriers.
Voluntary Unemployment vs. Legitimate Reasons
Courts distinguish between people who choose not to work and those who genuinely cannot find employment. Someone with a medical condition preventing them from working won’t have income imputed. A parent staying home with very young children might have legitimate reasons for not working full time. The key question is whether the unemployment or underemployment is voluntary.
Timing matters significantly when evaluating whether unemployment is voluntary. If your spouse quit their job right before or immediately after you filed for divorce, that timing suggests manipulation rather than coincidence. Courts view these situations skeptically and are more likely to impute income.
A spouse who turns down job offers or refuses to seek employment appropriate to their qualifications demonstrates voluntary unemployment. If they worked as a manager for 15 years but now only apply for entry-level positions, courts can impute income based on their management experience and qualifications.
Educational background, work history, and professional credentials all factor into determining earning capacity. Someone with an MBA and 20 years of corporate experience can’t credibly claim they can only find minimum wage work. Courts look at what similarly situated people in your area actually earn.
How Courts Calculate Earning Capacity
Judges consider multiple factors when determining what income to impute. Your spouse’s education level, professional licenses, work experience, age, health, and local job market conditions all influence the calculation. Courts aim to determine what someone with your spouse’s qualifications reasonably could earn.
Factors courts examine when imputing income include:
- Previous employment history and salary levels
- Educational degrees and professional certifications
- Specialized skills or training
- Length of time out of the workforce
- Local labor market conditions and available jobs
- Physical and mental health limitations
- Age and proximity to retirement
- Childcare responsibilities that limit work hours
Vocational evaluations provide detailed assessments of earning capacity. These professionals analyze your spouse’s background, test their current skills, research job markets, and produce reports showing what positions they qualify for and expected salary ranges. While expensive, vocational evaluations carry significant weight with judges.
Labor market surveys show what people with similar qualifications actually earn in your geographic area. Your attorney can present data about salary ranges for positions your spouse is qualified to fill. This concrete evidence helps judges understand realistic earning capacity.
Proving Your Spouse Is Deliberately Underemployed
Underemployment happens when someone works below their qualifications and earning capacity. A lawyer working as a barista or an engineer taking a retail job might be deliberately underemployed to manipulate support calculations. Proving deliberate underemployment requires showing your spouse could obtain better employment but chooses not to.
Document your spouse’s employment history thoroughly. Past W-2s, tax returns, and pay stubs establish what they previously earned. LinkedIn profiles, resumes they’ve created, and professional networking sites show qualifications they’ve promoted to potential employers.
Job search activities, or lack thereof, reveal whether unemployment is voluntary. If your spouse makes few job applications, applies only to positions well below their qualifications, or turns down interviews and offers, these patterns demonstrate voluntary unemployment. Discovery can uncover employment correspondence, application records, and communications about job opportunities.
Social media often reveals the truth about someone’s employment situation. Posts about enjoying free time, traveling, or pursuing hobbies suggest they’re not seriously seeking work. Comments about not needing a job or deliberately staying unemployed to reduce support obligations can be powerful evidence.
Some spouses claim they’re starting a business or working as independent contractors but conveniently report little or no income. Courts scrutinize these situations carefully. If the business appears to be more of a hobby or tax write-off than a genuine income-producing venture, judges may impute income based on what the person could earn in traditional employment.
Special Considerations for Stay-at-Home Parents
Courts handle imputed income differently for spouses who stayed home during the marriage to care for children. Judges recognize that taking years off from the workforce affects earning capacity and employability. Someone who hasn’t worked in 15 years can’t immediately return at their previous salary level.
The age of your children influences whether courts impute income to a stay-at-home parent. When children are school-age and don’t require full-time supervision, courts are more likely to impute at least part-time income. Very young children or children with special needs requiring constant care support arguments against imputing full-time income.
Rehabilitative periods allow stay-at-home spouses time to reenter the workforce. Courts might impute only part-time income initially while the spouse updates skills, completes training, or gradually increases work hours. After a reasonable transition period, full-time earning capacity gets imputed.
The higher-earning spouse’s role in the decision for one parent to stay home affects imputed income analysis. If you encouraged or insisted your spouse quit working to care for children, courts consider this history. The decision to have a stay-at-home parent shouldn’t solely benefit the working spouse during divorce.
Impact on Child Support Calculations
Imputed income affects child support calculations just as it affects spousal support. Most states use both parents’ incomes in their child support formulas. When one parent is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed, imputing income to that parent changes the calculation and typically reduces what the working parent must pay.
Child support guidelines treat imputed income the same as actual earnings for calculation purposes. If the court imputes $60,000 in annual income to your unemployed spouse, the child support worksheet uses that $60,000 figure even though your spouse isn’t actually earning anything.
Some parents deliberately stay unemployed to avoid child support obligations. Courts take particularly dim views of parents who choose not to support their children financially. Judges will impute income more readily in child support cases than in spousal support situations.
When Courts Won’t Impute Income
Legitimate inability to work prevents income imputation. Documented medical conditions, disabilities, or mental health issues that genuinely prevent employment mean courts won’t impute income. Your spouse needs medical documentation supporting their inability to work, not just their own claims.
Older spouses nearing retirement age might successfully argue against imputed income. A 64-year-old who lost their job faces real age discrimination in hiring. Courts recognize that older workers encounter legitimate barriers to reemployment that younger people don’t face.
Lack of available jobs in your spouse’s field can prevent imputation. During economic downturns or in geographic areas with limited employment opportunities, courts consider whether jobs actually exist that your spouse could obtain. National employment statistics might not reflect local realities.
Primary caregiver responsibilities for disabled family members beyond just children can justify not working. If your spouse cares for an elderly parent or disabled adult child requiring full-time supervision, courts may find the unemployment involuntary.
Building Your Case for Imputed Income
Start gathering evidence early. Collect documentation of your spouse’s work history, education, and qualifications. Research salary data for positions they’re qualified to fill. Track their job search efforts or lack thereof through discovery requests.
Hire a vocational evaluator if your spouse’s situation is complex or their earning capacity is disputed. These professionals provide objective assessments that carry more weight than arguments from attorneys. The investment in a vocational evaluation often pays for itself through reduced support obligations.
Be prepared to show that your spouse’s unemployment or underemployment is voluntary. Document job offers they refused, positions they’re qualified for but haven’t applied to, or statements they’ve made about not wanting to work. The more evidence you present, the stronger your argument for imputing income.
Protecting Your Financial Interests
When your spouse manipulates their employment situation to increase support obligations, imputed income provides a remedy. Courts understand these tactics and have tools to prevent unfair outcomes based on voluntary unemployment or deliberate underemployment.
We help clients present evidence of earning capacity and argue effectively for imputed income in support calculations. If you’re facing a divorce where your spouse refuses to work or has deliberately reduced their income, contact us to discuss building a case for imputing income based on their actual earning capacity rather than their manufactured unemployment.