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Why Getting Ahead Doesn't Work In Family Law

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  • Why Getting Ahead Doesn't Work In Family Law

    Morning All;

    Just a quick comment on family law. Sorry, amazingly frustrating.

    Have a Sep agreement in place. FINALLY.

    One of the clauses, which is standard, is exchange line 150's

    However, herein lies the problem. I have been offered a promotion at work.

    I asked my lawyer about it, in the end as CS/SS is based on gross..i was advised to turn it down. After tax was taken off plus cs/ss the gain was minimal. Plus, if I ever want to change it, a motion has to be filed. Spent enough time and money in court ......not doing that again.



    Always learning.

  • #2
    So you are going to go through life turning down advancement opportunities at work to ensure that you don't pay any more support?

    My son, who is single with no children, will get a small raise soon. It will made little positive difference because of taxes. Will he turn it down? Of course not.

    Yep, keep turning down promotions and blaming your problems on Family Law.

    Comment


    • #3
      You shouldn't turn it down.

      Convert it into perks or "bank it".

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by arabian View Post
        So you are going to go through life turning down advancement opportunities at work to ensure that you don't pay any more support?

        My son, who is single with no children, will get a small raise soon. It will made little positive difference because of taxes. Will he turn it down? Of course not.

        Yep, keep turning down promotions and blaming your problems on Family Law.
        The difference if he loses the job family law will impute him the increased salary.

        Comment


        • #5
          Arabian;

          Why would anyone take a job promotion and make net zero money and spend less time with one's kids. (promotion means more time at work) Makes no sense. Also, echo Links statement.

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          • #6
            I somewhat know how you feel.

            I'm headed back to court on the support issue and scared to death that because I am smart with my money, go without and am pretty much debt free, I could get dinged for paying more support (shared access). Makes me want to run out and rack up some debt.

            This sucks.

            Comment


            • #7
              If one's inability to make sound financial decisions affected amount of support payable then my ex would never have to pay because he is a train wreck in this area.

              North of 40 - deciding not to take a promotion to spend more time with one's children sounds nice. Hopefully turning down promotions doesn't have a negative impact career-wise in the future as many parents have discovered. This is where SS can come into play for some - giving up career to stay home with children.

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by North of 40 View Post
                One of the clauses, which is standard, is exchange line 150's

                However, herein lies the problem. I have been offered a promotion at work.

                I asked my lawyer about it, in the end as CS/SS is based on gross..i was advised to turn it down. After tax was taken off plus cs/ss the gain was minimal. Plus, if I ever want to change it, a motion has to be filed. Spent enough time and money in court ......not doing that again.
                Are you sure that's accurate? I know CS adjusts regularly with changes in income, and that's the right thing to do. You should support your children in line with your current income. If you benefit from a salary increase, they should too.

                However, SS is usually fixed at the agreement or court order, as it's more based on the income during the marriage, not what happened afterwards. I can see an exception for a situation if your ex supported you through school for a lot of the marriage based on the idea that you would both benefit afterwards on the lucrative resulting career. But if your ex had nothing to do with whatever earned you the promotion, then SS should not change with your increased paycheck.

                Say 30% of a salary increase goes to taxes and 15% goes to increased CS. Is that remaining 55% increase to YOU worth it?

                That said, just do a cost/benefit analysis for the promotion, same as you would for anything else. So your income won't actually change much despite the higher salary, because of tax brackets and CS increase. Is the promotion still worth it? Would your work hours change? Would you have less family time? Would it be easier or harder to work around the kids' schedules? Would you enjoy the new responsibilities more? Would the higher CS give your children more opportunities? If you turn it down now, will the offer ever come around again in the future? Is there a continued advancement path that would lead to future income increases that would benefit you more than this one does? Etc. The money is just one facet of deciding to take a promotion or not.
                Last edited by Rioe; 05-11-2015, 11:15 AM.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by arabian View Post
                  If one's inability to make sound financial decisions affected amount of support payable then my ex would never have to pay because he is a train wreck in this area.
                  Unfortunately for me, it does. Thanks to 9b and 9c of the guidelines. It also means they will look at my partner's income. Though it can't be used to calculate support, it does factor in to my standard of living, and can therefore increase how much I pay.

                  Lovely.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Maybe I read it wrong, but it doesn't seem like his decision to turn it down is solely to do with $. OP said he finally has a separation agreement and would have to file a motion to change.

                    Having been going through the court process now for almost a year, it's emotionally exhausting and draining. (As many/all of you know)
                    Personally, that part drains me more than the financial part of it.

                    I'd probably turn the promotion down too, if in OP's position, just to have a break from the constant litigation and try and regain some peace.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      North of 40... I hear you loud and clear.

                      Usually a promotion brings with it more responsibility (read stress) and less personal time. You weigh it against long term career advancement but if yiu are indeed "North of 40" like I am then screw it.

                      I am no slouch and rarely advise the easy road but while you have a jockey on your back taking a peice of every dollar earned why should you run FASTER when there is little to no incentive.

                      When I calculate my CS increases after tax...I only get 40 cents on the dollar. The government and my ex combined take the lions share.

                      I don't turn down every dollar but I sure weigh the pressures involved on a contract by contract basis.

                      Power be with the earners...you get to decide when it's worth earning or not. There is no over driving principle that says you MUST take on more when there is not a clear upside to you.

                      If your ex doesn't like it! They can always get the promotion themselves.

                      By the way the moaners would be the same people telling a high earner there are more valuable things in life...stop and smell the flowers...spend more time with the family. Agreed.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Yeah hear ya......ex was so afraid of my possible failing income due to her bulldozer approach to my income, business, and partners.

                        Never saw her even try to find employment......felt entitlement was the only career option she needed to choose.

                        Only real losers, me and our kids. She now rakes in more than than she ever would have earned on her working career path, and for longer.

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                        • #13
                          I've taken every job promotion I could. That said, I only pay c/s as my ex and I were never married and barely lived together (3-4 months before she got pregnant).

                          If the promotion provides a nominal increase in salary, I can see turning it down. Increased work responsibilities for minimal return after taxes/ss/cs would isn't really appealing. The promotion would really have to be close to 20% to consider it. The other point that may get me to take it would be if the initial increase was nominal, but the pay ceiling was substantially higher. C/S isn't forever, and most of the time neither is SS. To turn down a move now for a nominal increase, may shoot yourself in the foot in 10 years when the pay scales would be dramatically different and your c/s and s/s obligations may be NIL.

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                          • #14
                            I understand the fear of imputation too. I never really cared about money anyways (that was my always my ex) and I feel very little enjoyment at getting any raises and promotions. Since I have the taxes on it, I think my ex wife actually gets a larger raise than I do whenever my salary goes up.

                            And if I should ever lose my job, or my salary decrease, I would be in huge trouble trying to make payments for a salary I no longer have. The law says CS goes up and down based on line 150 income, but in practice, it only ever goes up. If you try to lower your CS when your salary falls or you change jobs, your former salary will be imputed to you without much of a second thought. Try lowering your CS by even a dollar, and society tells you you are a dead beat dad and should suffer whatever the law can leverage against you.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              You have to look at all the benefits too. If its just the income change it may not be worth it but what if there are other things? My partner and I are both looking for work and while my skills are somewhat flexible, the job market for me in our current location sucks. He can find "work" but thats all it is--a pay cheque. No guarantees, no pension, no benefits etc. Hes also worried about the up and down and modifying now that hes with FRO and his ex refuses to work together to adjust easily. I encouraged him to apply for a few jobs outside our current location at a higher salary but they also offer security, a pension, benefits and vacation time. Sure it means his cs will go up and he would have to move but in the long run its beneficial to him because when hes done paying cs in 9 years he still would have the good income, 9 years of pension contributions and health/emotional benefits.

                              You have to weigh it all out. If saying no screws you for the future, thats not a benefit. Its almost like taking a shitty paying job to get experience in the beginning of your career. Sure its only $10 an hour but its also experience that you need for that $50000 job.

                              Comment

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