reasonable income imputation

[sahibjee]

looking to have income imputed to my ex, she has a master's degree in geography from back home as well as a post graduate diploma in early childhood education, she worked as a lecturer/teacher for couple of years before and 1 year after marriage after which she quit to come to Canada.

she didn't work for about 2 years after coming to canada and prior to our separation.

she then started working 11 months after separation when the judge threatened to impute income to her, but quit after 7 months. she also completed some diploma/certification in education from U of T.

custody was eventually transferred to me while she has now disappeared without settling CS & SS.

At the last court date while she did not attend, I brought a motion to change and i was able to suspend the CS & SS i was expected to pay her.

I requested the judge to impute 40K to her based on her qualifications, the judge said she will be happy to impute minimum wage, but if i am requesting 40k then she will "need more information"

I have been looking at case law but have yet not found a case that addresses a similar circumstance. does any one have any information or suggestions on how to have 40K imputed to ex?

[Berner_Faith]

You need to have proof that she can make $40k a year. Have you looked up Kob postings for what she would qualify for? Her last job, what was she making? Had she stayed would she be at the $40k mark?

[Serene]

Minimum wage is increasing in the summer I believe.

She has a master's degree. I can't imagine she would only qualify for min wage. Go to similar university Web site. Often they have info for each degree that lists common jobs and the associated pay for each degree.

[standing on the sidelines]

what was the income of the job she worked for 7 months at? Are her diplomas recognized in Canada? You need proof that the she has that earning potential in Canada, not in the country you came from. Case law wont help you there, check on job sites to see what she is qualified for and pull stuff from the low to high range. Remember, it all depends if her qualifications are recognized here. If they are not, then minimum wage is the norm.

The judge can only go by the evidence in front of them. You could pull any number out of a hat.

[arabian]

You would likely have more success in having a graduated income imputed to her over a 5 year period.

As others have posted, her degrees/diplomas from another country are likely not recognized here. You could get more information on that by trying to meet with a registrar at a university (if you have your ex's transcripts) to find out what coursework she has completed (if any) is recognized/transferable.

There are many foreign-educated doctors driving taxis in this country.

[Rioe]

There are many people with degrees stuck working at minimum wage after they graduate.

I think you would have a better chance at imputing her to minimum wage, or to the salary she was earning at the job she quit.

[Links17]

You knwo what I would do.

I would find all the jobs she qualifies for (call center jobs too which pay more than min wage)

Send them to her in one big batch and then also use that batch as proof in court if she doesn't apply to them that she is PURPOSEFULLY not seeking the highest level of income she can.

[Janibel]

You knwo what I would do.

I would find all the jobs she qualifies for (call center jobs too which pay more than min wage)

Send them to her in one big batch and then also use that batch as proof in court if she doesn't apply to them that she is PURPOSEFULLY not seeking the highest level of income she can.

Good idea to do the research on available jobs. Not such a good idea to send this to the Ex - it could be viewed as harassment. Just keep your list as evidence if needed.

[Links17]

Almost Nothing done once in harassment!

A lawyer in Montreal told me that a client's ex who was a lawyer sent his ex a bunch of applications every few months and it wasn't looked upon badly though that surprised me.

At the end its in the best interest of the children to have 2 working parents contributing to their needs.

[OrleansLawyer]

I have been looking at case law but have yet not found a case that addresses a similar circumstance. does any one have any information or suggestions on how to have 40K imputed to ex?

In uncontested matters, it is not uncommon for people to have an income well above minimum wage imputed to them.

Evidence you may wish to bring could be:
- proof of prior earnings (what did she earn when she worked before, in Canada)?
- proof of what people in their field earn (most trades have an average range of pay ; statscan is your friend, for example Perspectives on Labour and Income: Skilled trades employment )
- proof of lifestyle

If a party is educated in a field that earns an average of $40-80k, why should support not be payable based on an income of 60k? That would seem fair.

Or, depending on mood (yours, and the judges), why should support not be payable based on 90k? The payor could be earning more than average, and if they are not it would provide encouragement for them to engage the court process and provide some notices of assessment for an adjustment in support.

[MS Mom]

From a strictly employment point of view, labour market information should provide everything you need to impute income. LMI is what WSIB uses when determining benefits.

Find an Occupation

This is the link for Ontario. Research will take it to a regional level. With the majority of the jobs being "hidden" and many being handled by agencies, it is increasingly difficult to find accurate salary information on careers through job postings. It's difficult to argue with government generated statistics.

[arabian]

I agree with OrleansLawyer and would add that it's interesting how quickly someone can come up with information when they face being imputed at a high income.

[sahibjee]

Thanks for the kind replies every one, sorry for being away, spring break for the kid! lol

You need to have proof that she can make $40k a year. Have you looked up Kob postings for what she would qualify for? Her last job, what was she making? Had she stayed would she be at the $40k mark?

what was the income of the job she worked for 7 months at?

i looked up for jobs with a masters in geography degree it appears that the starting salaries are around $57k-60k. her last job wasnt according to her qualifications, i believe she got it only so that a judge dosnt impute income to her, i believe the paystub they sent me was $12/hour part time

She has a master's degree. I can't imagine she would only qualify for min wage. Go to similar university Web site. Often they have info for each degree that lists common jobs and the associated pay for each degree.

thanks that was very helpful, i went to U of T's website and printed out the page and printed a few jobs for most categories with sample incomes available for the judge.

Are her diplomas recognized in Canada? You need proof that the she has that earning potential in Canada, not in the country you came from. Case law wont help you there, check on job sites to see what she is qualified for and pull stuff from the low to high range. Remember, it all depends if her qualifications are recognized here. If they are not, then minimum wage is the norm.

The judge can only go by the evidence in front of them. You could pull any number out of a hat.

would an argument be reasonable that we both got degrees from the same university abroad? mine was recognized for admission in a university here and credits were transferred? also she got admission at U of T for some post grad diploma so her degree must have been recognized too. (i printed her name off U of T's department's website and gave it to judge last time.

also she graduated top of her class (and apparently won a gold medal, i never saw it though AFAIR)

Good idea to do the research on available jobs. Not such a good idea to send this to the Ex - it could be viewed as harassment. Just keep your list as evidence if needed.

Almost Nothing done once in harassment!

A lawyer in Montreal told me that a client's ex who was a lawyer sent his ex a bunch of applications every few months and it wasn't looked upon badly though that surprised me.

At the end its in the best interest of the children to have 2 working parents contributing to their needs.

actually last week i read a case on CANLII where a judge mentioned that a spouse was allowed to send his ex job openings and he did .... i'll try to find that case again. it was not looked upon negatively in that case.

In uncontested matters, it is not uncommon for people to have an income well above minimum wage imputed to them.

Evidence you may wish to bring could be:
- proof of prior earnings (what did she earn when she worked before, in Canada)?
- proof of what people in their field earn (most trades have an average range of pay ; statscan is your friend, for example Perspectives on Labour and Income: Skilled trades employment )
- proof of lifestyle

If a party is educated in a field that earns an average of $40-80k, why should support not be payable based on an income of 60k? That would seem fair.

Or, depending on mood (yours, and the judges), why should support not be payable based on 90k? The payor could be earning more than average, and if they are not it would provide encouragement for them to engage the court process and provide some notices of assessment for an adjustment in support.

From a strictly employment point of view, labour market information should provide everything you need to impute income. LMI is what WSIB uses when determining benefits.


Find an Occupation

This is the link for Ontario. Research will take it to a regional level. With the majority of the jobs being "hidden" and many being handled by agencies, it is increasingly difficult to find accurate salary information on careers through job postings. It's difficult to argue with government generated statistics.

thanks for both those links, very valueable.
I did the suggested research. as per ontario ministry of training the avg salary for "Urban and Land Use Planners" (the only job i could find relevant in THEIR database) would make $69,185 in 2005.

salary.com states average of around 80-90k for many of jobs she would qualify for with starting salary around 60k mark. I have printed out those reports along with few sample jobs.

the average salary is about $20k more than what i asked to be imputed last time. i wonder if its a good idea to up the request to at least the starting salary?

I have no evidence of her lifestyle except her own emails stating she took couple of flights in past month which would have cost around $1600 return each.

[MS Mom]

thanks for both those links, very valueable.
I did the suggested research. as per ontario ministry of training the avg salary for "Urban and Land Use Planners" (the only job i could find relevant in THEIR database) would make $69,185 in 2005.

salary.com states average of around 80-90k for many of jobs she would qualify for with starting salary around 60k mark. I have printed out those reports along with few sample jobs.

the average salary is about $20k more than what i asked to be imputed last time. i wonder if its a good idea to up the request to at least the starting salary?

I have no evidence of her lifestyle except her own emails stating she took couple of flights in past month which would have cost around $1600 return each.

It's been a while since I've hammered in on LMI, but there should be regional numbers as well as provincial numbers. Wages differ greatly in Ontario depending on your location.

I'd ask for the lowest range in the salary to be imputed. The salary ranges will consider those with 30+ years experience as well as entry-level. If she's only worked in Canada (or had the opportunity to work in Canada) for only a couple years - entry-level salaries would be accurate.

Her lifestyle only matters if you're trying to show that she must make XX because expenses are YY. Then there's always the "my parents paid for that", "boyfriend paid for that" excuses that come up in those arguments.

If you back that up with a couple of relevant job postings in her area, you'll demonstrate that she is employable at a certain salary.

LMI projections gives some information as well. Here's the link:

COPS Home / Canadian Occupational Projection System (COPS)

That should demonstrate whether there is high or low demand for a specific occupation as well.

[sahibjee]

here is what happened, the applicant did not show up as expected. the judge terminated all of my arrears (about $2000) but refused to impute more than minimum wage to the applicant even though i had attached many govt stats of what she could be making, the judge said when was the last time she worked in one of those jobs.
bottom line minimum wage was imputed and CS ordered accordingly