Spousal Support versus her working more hours

[BeyondWitsEnd]

Hello again..

My current CL partner works part time, which she has done since about 6 months after our 2nd was born. (4yrs ago).
She's a server at a restaurant, so her "on-paper" pay is much, much lower than her actual bring home amounts.
I've been keeping somewhat track of what her tips are per-shift, and plan to submit that into any negotiations on support (particularly spousal).

My question is this:
I know that she can easily increase her hours/week, or shifts that she works, but will the courts see it that way?
I work a steady m-f job, and my employer has let me know that they will allow me to modify my work week, allowing me to schedule around the children's school schedule.
I'm planning on pursuing custody Tues-Sat, with her having them on Sunday/Monday. Especially since her shifts are typically evenings and Saturdays, will I get support from the courts in this position? Or will they say that it's unreasonable to expect her to work more?

[dadtotheend]

Originally Posted by BeyondWitsEnd

Hello again..

My current CL partner works part time, which she has done since about 6 months after our 2nd was born. (4yrs ago).
She's a server at a restaurant, so her "on-paper" pay is much, much lower than her actual bring home amounts.
I've been keeping somewhat track of what her tips are per-shift, and plan to submit that into any negotiations on support (particularly spousal).

My question is this:
I know that she can easily increase her hours/week, or shifts that she works, but will the courts see it that way?
I work a steady m-f job, and my employer has let me know that they will allow me to modify my work week, allowing me to schedule around the children's school schedule.
I'm planning on pursuing custody Tues-Sat, with her having them on Sunday/Monday. Especially since her shifts are typically evenings and Saturdays, will I get support from the courts in this position? Or will they say that it's unreasonable to expect her to work more?

If the kids primarily live with Mom, the court will be sympathetic to her not increasing her hours becuase she can argue that she is choosing to care for the kids rather than work more. The court wouldn't impute an extra income on that account for SS support purposes because the children's needs will be prioritized.

There is a better argument for imputing the tip income, since it's pretty common knowledge what servers make in tips. Most servers grossly under-report their income. Tips typically average approximately 200% of T4 income, most servers declare tips around 10-15% of their T4 income. Those numbers should be demonstrable with her tax returns and your specific records of her tips.

The duration of SS will also be significantly influenced by the children's primary residence. If your ex has the kids, then SS could well be ordered indefinitely, effectively until the kids finish school, including university. If you are primary residence, then duration of SS will probably be more tied to the length of your CL relationship. If it was around 5 years, you might be looking at around a year of SS for each year of the CL union, but that is a not all certain.

You are fortunate that you can schedule your work around the kids, but a judge is far less likely to be swayed by your plans than he/she would be after you implemented those plans. If you want to have primary residence, you should reschedule now and start caring for the kids primarily to establish a status quo that demonstates that you are the primary caregiver. Your plans to do so won't mean anything to a judge.

[BeyondWitsEnd]

Thanks for the advice, I'll start on making that happen.
I want to do all that I can to improve my chances of having my children with me.
One add-on question..
In your experience/opinion, would the courts look more favourably on a custody arrangement that had the children shuttling back and forth between the parents on an almost nightly basis, or an arrangement that had them with longer duration stays?

Her ideal is:
Me: Tues, Thurs, every other Fri, Sat
Her: Sun, Mon, Wed, every other Fri

IMO, that is not nearly enough stability in their lives..

[dadtotheend]

You are correct sir. You appear to have a pretty good take on what's important.

You would have to be living next door to one another and be getting along so well that you might as well not have separated to make that schedule work well.

[dadtotheend]

The other very compelling factor will be who stays in the marital home. If someone stays (as opposed to both of you leaving), they will be favoured because the kids will be least disrupted by not having to move.

In other words, DON"T leave the home.