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  • How Much Income Should Be Imputed?

    Based on the below info, what do you think a judge would find to be an acceptable amount to impute upon my ex? (Sorry, another long one)

    Ex has a very scattered work history, but has always had an excellent ability to obtain a somewhat good paying job shortly after loosing/quitting his previous ones. He is currently paying CS on a temporary order based off an income of approximately $19,000

    Here is the information and FACTS that I have:

    1) x3 income tax returns disclosed in Dec 2018 at 1st CC- 2015,16 and 17. Show an annual income of anywhere between $25,000- $30,000. Ex claimed he was unemployed at the CC though (no ROE’s Dr notes etc) hence the low temporary order for CS

    2) Shortly after we separated in 2015 he began working for a very large, well known, province-wide company in a somewhat entry level position. This is supported in the “Notes” section on his 2016 tax return (whoever did his taxes listed all the places he had worked that year- he only worked for this company for part of the year) as well as numerous social media posts made from his accounts where he is shown in selfies next to the company branded vehicles, wearing company branded articles of clothing, and on job sites with other employees. The position he was working at there has the starting wage posted on their official website at $27/hour (approximately $51,000 annually- this does not account for any overtime, for which this company is very well known for)

    3) I now have in my possession his ROE and letter of resignation from the company he worked for from the middle of 2017 until April 2018. The letter of resignation has a note from the company that while they have indicated on his ROE that he was laid off, he did in fact resign on his own accord. Basing my calculations off this ROE, he would have been making approximately $38,000 a year at this job


    -4)I now have in my possession a 2018 summary letter from Employment Insurance. He collected benefits for the maximum allowed coverage time last year (25 weeks) for a total paid out amount of approximately $9,050 (claimed to be unemployed due to lay off, see last point)

    5) I have in my possession a signed and sworn affidavit from his employer from April 2018 to September 2018 (where he worked while he was collecting unemployment). The employer indicates in the affidavit that he sub contracted my ex (hence why he wasn’t on payroll and still able to collect EI), that he had to fire him for poor performance and accusations of drug use from customers, and that he paid my ex via e-transfer, never cash, approximately $750-$1000/week. He also claims that my ex would have reasonably collected cash tips anywhere in the range of $200-$350/week (works out to be about anywhere between $50,000-$70,000 annually if you include tips)

    Other points of interest:

    - At the end of last year, my ex started a business doing the same line of work as he was in the last point. He admitted this at our CC. He drives around a recently purchased vehicle with the company branding all over it. His business’ social media account has numerous reviews which mention him by name and thank him for his work, and have pictures of him performing the work

    - I have in my possession a Dr note for my ex. The Dr indicates that he had seen my ex at the end of 2018, and that he had severe sleep apnea at that time. He writes that he “suggested” that my ex restrict his highway driving. He then mentions that he saw him again just over a month later and that his sleep apnea had improved enough that he felt comfortable with my ex driving regularly again

    - I received $0 in CS from mid 2017 until end of 2018 (18 months- he voluntarily paid approximately $350/month previous to this)I filed for CS in January 2018

    - I have received CS From Jan 2019-present at an amount based off of $19,000 annual income

    - I was at one point willing to cut a very good deal with the ex to just be over with this. But his continued claim of being unemployed, along with the above discovered info, have me of the opinion that I should go after a proper impute and arrears.

    - I now have ZERO doubt in my mind that Every. Single. Financial. Issue to come along in our daughter’s life will be a fight for me. He has most recently refused to contribute to summer/after school care expenses. I do not want to go back to court every year. I want to do this right the first time.

    - Now that access/custody is settled in a final order and he no longer has to look good for a judge, he has gone back to cancelling his parenting time whenever he feels like it

    Any input would be appreciated as always!

  • #2
    You have good documentation. Based on this documentation, I would go for minimum impute of 51K - 60K. I like that someone paid him by etransfer. You may/may not want to get an Order for him to turn over bank records for bank that the money was deposited into. You might want to ask that he provide copies of the account that he deposits his new business income into. I believe it will be determined that your ex does not come to court with clean hands. This will follow him for a very long time. He fraudulently collected EI while working and therefore his tax returns are questionable.

    Good work.
    Last edited by arabian; 05-08-2019, 07:29 AM.

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    • #3
      Thanks Arabian

      I have an order that gave the ex 30 days to supply the last 12 months of bank statements from ALL financial institutions. That 30 days is up today. His lawyer provided statements from one bank account that is obviously not a regular chequing account, more just like a casual savings account- it has no normal monthly transactions such as phone bill payments, insurance, rent/mortgage, or any deposits from EI etc. Oh and the statements are only for the first 2 months, then omit the next 7 months, and then have the most recent 3 months included.....

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      • #4
        When someone plays a game like this with disclosure, they are hiding something. I hope the judge comes down hard on him. People should not have to chase child support. Hopefully you can get an order for cs and s7 that can be filed with FRO. Even if he doesn’t pay, it will follow him for years.

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        • #5
          Ya unfortunately when I finally do get a proper order for cs and arrears I believe that will coincide with him deciding to walk out of our daughter’s life. I hope I am wrong for her sake, but I am learning to cope and prepare myself for this.

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          • #6
            Originally posted by Selfrepmom View Post
            Ya unfortunately when I finally do get a proper order for cs and arrears I believe that will coincide with him deciding to walk out of our daughter’s life. I hope I am wrong for her sake, but I am learning to cope and prepare myself for this.


            Walking out of her life does not mean no cs. Hes still obligated to provide you with financial disclosure and you should ask every year.

            As an abandoned child myself I can safely say she will survive. Shower her with love and support, have her see a therapist as needed and remind her that her fathers decisions are not her fault. One day he will realize he needed his child and it will be her decision whether she wants it or not. She will be ok. My siblings and I have all gone on to successful careers and have happy loving relationships.

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            • #7
              when you file the order with FRO they can do some pretty aggressive collections. IF your ex wants to maintain a driver's license he will have to pay. FRO will probably put on a personal property lien which will hinder him from purchasing and selling any new "toys"... travel to US will not be in the cards for him. It takes time for the collection process but at least it is free to have FRO go after him.

              Father doesn't want to be in kids life? I'm sure some nice trips to Disneyland or summer camps (from money from CS) will help soothe any hurt feelings in the future. Of course it won't replace the father but then life is full of disappointments.

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              • #8
                Where did the $19k come from?

                My guess would be to ask for $50k imputation at trial using the affidavit, and give an offer to settle for $30k.

                Although he'll have credibility issues, your evidence shows that he could make up to 50k full time but also that he can't hold a job full time. $30k is what he can actually make. The judge may order a bit more due to his dirty hands, but I doubt it would be much more than what he can and has been making.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by StillPaying View Post
                  Where did the $19k come from? .
                  At our first Case Conference he was still claiming to be unemployed with no credible reason/documentation. The judge and his duty counsel told him he HAD to start paying something, so he very begrudgingly agreed to a temporary consent order for CS at $150/month

                  Originally posted by StillPaying View Post
                  Although he'll have credibility issues, your evidence shows that he could make up to 50k full time but also that he can't hold a job full time. $30k is what he can actually make. The judge may order a bit more due to his dirty hands, but I doubt it would be much more than what he can and has been making.
                  I’m not sure on that one.... from the case law I’ve read, income is usually imputed at the amount that the support payor is proven to be capable of making, so long as there is no valid reason for the payor to not be able to make that money (ie medical issue) My ex is beyond capable of making $50k a year- and it is proven. The fact that he chooses to jump jobs/lie to his employers/call in “sick” too much is not a valid reason to be imputed at a lower income. If I behaved in the manner he has with his employment, our daughter would not be guaranteed to have a roof over her head every month. Not exactly fair that he can continue to get away with this behaviour while I am left to take care of our daughter on my own.

                  If you had asked me a year ago to accept the $30k impute and be done with it, I would have. But like I said, now that I know the things I do, I realize this is going to be a battle every single year. He will refuse to voluntarily update his income every year. He will refuse to pay his portion of s7’s every single year. This means costly/time consuming motions. I want to push for the max impute I can get right now, so that I can let the little stuff slide over the next few years if I need to

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                  • #10
                    I was told back when I was starting my litigation that judges will tend to impute substantially higher, particularly when there are potentially fudged records (as in your case). You can also carefully fold in lifestyle (expensive home, vehicles, etc) to create a picture. If your ex is doing what mine likes to do (have income go through g/f's or family account) then it is a much more difficult position. Fortunately for me, my ex was caught up in his lies. Looks like your ex has already done himself in. Karma.

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                    • #11
                      I would also calculate what your s7 expenses are yearly and ask for that as a set monthly amount to be collected as cs. That way FRO can collect it and you can put it towards extra activities that cone up as she gets older. You will need to take him back to court for post secondary but maybe by then he will wised up or the govt will have improved family law. Doubtful on both but I like to hope!!

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                      • #12
                        I agree with you. If you're going to trial, push for $50k. However I would have an offer to settle at 30k to protect myself from cost as that seems to be your worst case scenario.

                        You can easily show he could make 50k, but he never has. It appears that since before separation he could never hold a job so it's hard to think that'll change. Even the affidavit you're relying on shows he gets fired for bad performance and drugs. It definitely should be more, but it may only be his noa amount with a slight increase for cash jobs potential and bad faith.

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                        • #13
                          If he is unwilling to produce ALL bank statements then I doubt he will be given much leniency when it comes time to impute income. Offering up selective statements just isn't going to cut it. For a start, he would have to corroborate the income that he did declare with bank statements. I don't know how it would be possible to accept etransfers without having a bank to deposit to. Likely there is another bank account somewhere.

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by arabian View Post
                            You can also carefully fold in lifestyle (expensive home, vehicles, etc) to create a picture. If your ex is doing what mine likes to do (have income go through g/f's or family account) then it is a much more difficult position. Fortunately for me, my ex was caught up in his lies. Looks like your ex has already done himself in. Karma.
                            Yes all vehicles are registered in gf’s name. The home they live in was hers from a previous marriage so only in her name as well. And it is her phone number all over his business website for the contact number.

                            Would it be overkill to throw in info/social media pics of them on their semi-annual all inclusive Caribbean vacations, the 5 bed 3 bath, $700,000 home they live in, their elaborate March break vacays with her 4 kids from her previous marriage etc?

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by StillPaying View Post
                              I agree with you. If you're going to trial, push for $50k. However I would have an offer to settle at 30k to protect myself from cost as that seems to be your worst case scenario.
                              Gotcha!

                              So basically just start pushing hard for trial now that everything else is settled.

                              Would it make sense to file a motion for income to be imputed on an interim basis in order to get some s7 stuff taken care of and proper CS until trial? We already have one case conference and one settlement conference behind us.

                              Also, can arrears be ordered on a motion or would that only be dealt with at trial?

                              Comment

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