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  • Imputing Income on a Spouse

    I am a self-representing dad that has an interim custody order for equal/shared parenting of my two children (6 and 8 years old).

    My ex is a well educated woman with a teaching degree and masters and for a period of time took time off from work to raise the kids. She has, however, not returned to full time work since our separation (almost 2 years old).

    Both children are in school full time and my ex works about 20 hours per week. Following a case conference, the judge issued an order (on consent) that she would seek out additional work, that I could provide her with job opportunities, and that she needed to provide me with an update every 2 months on her progress. I have provided her with dozens of job opportunities suited to her skills and training, but she has replied to ZERO.

    Now, in error, I brought a motion to impute income to her. At the motion, the judge kindly, but directly told me that this couldn't be done at a motion but at a a trial and then endorsed that we move to a trial management conference. Clearly, my blunder, but I think this now puts me on course to have this debated in the right forum.

    Have any of you attempted this and what strategies have been successful? More importantly, what hasn't worked and what advice would you give?

  • #2
    Imputing Income on a Spouse

    I am wondering if anyone has had success in imputing income on a spouse who is the recipient on CS and SS payments? Specifically, I am in a situation where my ex, while well educated, is underemployed even though a previous court order has suggested that she needs to improve her employment status and report of efforts of same. No efforts have been made or reported.

    I am currently at the stage of preparing for a trial management conference of which the imputing of income will be an issue for resolution.

    What strategies have worked for you? More importantly, what landmines need to be considered?

    Comment


    • #3
      SS payments DO appear on line 150 of income tax returns. It is not employment income but it is still income. To pursue SS as being legitimate income to base imputing income upon you might have to have a copy of the originating order for said SS in order to prove duration for same.

      Comment


      • #4
        Arabian - thank you. This sounds like a bit of a circular argument, so I want to be clear on what you are saying.

        For the purposes of example:

        1) Spouse makes $100 per year (employment income)
        2) Spouse makes $50 per year (SS)
        3) Total Income = $150 per year
        4) Imputed income (and resulting SS) should be based on $150?

        Sorry if i am being obtuse.

        Comment


        • #5
          How many years has she been at that income level? You would want to have her past 3-4 yrs tax returns if she is an employee and to show past spousal support. Is the income she makes due to self-employed income? If so then reasonable business expenses would be deducted from the amount.

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by Murphy1969 View Post
            Arabian - thank you. This sounds like a bit of a circular argument, so I want to be clear on what you are saying.

            For the purposes of example:

            1) Spouse makes $100 per year (employment income)
            2) Spouse makes $50 per year (SS)
            3) Total Income = $150 per year
            4) Imputed income (and resulting SS) should be based on $150?

            Sorry if i am being obtuse.
            It depends.

            Generally, SS is determined AFTER considering CS and income. CS is determined by pre SS income. In that case, SS should not be part of 'imputed' income for the purpose of determining support.

            This is how the CS guidelines are setup - to determine CS before considering SS and to determine SS after considering CS.

            You are suggesting to determine CS after considering SS (which makes much more sense to me, but I digress).

            So the answer is when is SS determined, before or after CS is determined.

            Comment


            • #7
              Spousal Support and Child Support are calculated in different ways. I can only speak to SS as I have no experience with CS.

              Comment


              • #8
                billm has it right.

                Spousal Support With Child Support Formula

                The Guidelines are not mandatory but they will always now be a starting place, and modified up or down according to facts and arguments presented.

                The formula takes into account CS and both parties' incomes first. So you cannot then go back and change the CS amount based on the SS. That would be an endless circle.

                Regarding imputing an income, it will depend on different factors. She is working 20 hours a week, is she teaching? Does she have a position with the local school board? Often teachers work several years with half days or filling in for sick teachers until a permanent position comes up. If this is her situation she may have success.

                What sort of positions did you suggest to her? Were they full time teaching postions? A close location? Private or school board? Benefits? Pension? If she has a good chance of getting a permanent postion at the local public school board, that is pretty hard to beat.

                How long is the expected duration of your spousal support? Your chldren are young but now school age. If you were married for around 10 years I would expect spousal support to have been for 5 years. Is that close?

                Comment


                • #9
                  CS is determined by pre SS income.
                  Correct.

                  Generally, SS is determined AFTER considering CS and income.
                  More accurately, there are different guideline amounts for with a child and without a child.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    I concur ^ and would add that there is plenty of information readily available on the internet about SS with or without children, along with calculators. Childview, Divorcemate - just two examples.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      And of course MySupportCalculator.ca

                      Overall I wish you luck and please keep us advised of the results. Many of us are in the process of, worried about, or contemplating just how to get our exs off the spousal support bandwagon once they'd have their due for shorter marriages.

                      Check out canlii for cases of imputing income too.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        This is a 20 year marriage with divided success in litigation.

                        The applicant wife had income imputed to her, the separation agreement was found to be inadequate, and although the husband overpaid in CS he underpaid in SS and was ordered to pay indefinitely.

                        CanLII - 2012 ONSC 3280 (CanLII)

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          I'll be traveling down the same road in a few short months in attempting to impute an income on my ex who was meant to use best efforts to be fully employed by the 2 year anniversary of our sep. agreement. She has done nothing of the sort. I would be very interested in how this works out for you. I was not aware that this had to be done at a trial.
                          This sounds very expensive to do, and I wonder if the money spent fighting this out in a trial or trial management conference will be worth it. Is this not something that can be attempted through mediation first? Please keep us posted.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            I wonder if the money spent fighting this out in a trial or trial management conference will be worth it.
                            This is often the greatest motivator for everyone involved to settle reasonably.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Not really, not with legal aid ready to give them wings.

                              I am a payor with (on paper) a good salary (60k+) so I would never qualify for legal aid HOWEVER after support and taxes I actually make 22k.

                              The recipient has (on paper) a salary of zero and receives benefits and support which give an income of $28k. Despite having more income, the recipient would qualify for legal aid.

                              So with my amazing 22k salary I would likely be forced to self represent (like the OP), go up against her legal aid counsel and a have much higher chance of losing and then being forced to pay costs.

                              It's just another trap of the system to force men into wage slavery. The receipient (a female in 80% of cases) simply has to be difficult or lazy and refuse to support themselves in order to maintain the situation. The payor has to dish out tens of thousands of dollars they don't have (because they are payors) to have a chance to effect a change, which may not work.

                              And it seems in many cases, judges will look at the situation and decide that the poor wifey is still entitled to her lifestyle from during the marriage that she chose to end.

                              Sorry, a little bitter today.
                              Last edited by FightingForFamily; 12-07-2012, 12:13 PM.

                              Comment

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