How Is Child Support Determined When the Non-custodial Parent Doesn’t Have a Job, but Is Living on Millions of Inheritance?
This is a more complex question than it might at first appear.
First, we need to address the matter of people who confuse beliefs with facts. If I had a dollar for every client or potential client parent who came to me claiming that the other parent was far more wealthy than he or she was letting on, I myself would be a millionaire. But that doesn’t stop most parents from making utterly unfounded allegations to the court that the other parent has income greater than he or she is reporting, has money stashed away in all kinds of secret bank accounts and other places, and or is receiving income from unearned sources, such as trusts or inheritance or investments or rental properties or intellectual property, etc.
Please bear in mind that the court is not required to believe claims uncorroborated by any credible evidence, no matter how strenuously you may assert those beliefs.
Now, in situations where in fact, a parent is not employed but does receive unearned income of some kind or another, that income can, and almost certainly will be, considered for child support calculation purposes. At the risk of oversimplifying the definition of unearned income, it is basically money that is not earned from active employment.
The Utah Code defines actual (as opposed to imputed*) income for child support calculation purposes as follows:
(1) As used in the guidelines, “gross income” includes prospective income from any source, including earned and nonearned income sources which may include salaries, wages, commissions, royalties, bonuses, rents, gifts from anyone, prizes, dividends, severance pay, pensions, interest, trust income, alimony from previous marriages, annuities, capital gains, Social Security benefits, workers’ compensation benefits, unemployment compensation, income replacement disability insurance benefits, and payments from “nonmeans-tested” government programs.
(78B-12-203. Determination of gross income — Imputed income.)
*But what if a parent is capable of earning an income but simply fails or refuses to work for an income? That is where imputation of income comes into play. In Utah, in the context of child support calculation, “imputed income” means income that if a parent is found to be capable of earning a certain amount of money, then that parent is treated for child support calculation purposes as if he/she is earning that income, even if he/she is not in fact earning it. Here is how the Utah Code imputes (and does not impute, in certain situations—see subsection 8(d) below) income for child support calculation purposes:
(8)
(a) Income may not be imputed to a parent unless the parent stipulates to the amount imputed, the parent defaults, or, in contested cases, a hearing is held and the judge in a judicial proceeding or the presiding officer in an administrative proceeding enters findings of fact as to the evidentiary basis for the imputation.
(b) If income is imputed to a parent, the income shall be based upon employment potential and probable earnings considering, to the extent known:
(i) employment opportunities;
(ii) work history;
(iii) occupation qualifications;
(iv) educational attainment;
(v) literacy;
(vi) age;
(vii) health;
(viii) criminal record;
(ix) other employment barriers and background factors; and
(x) prevailing earnings and job availability for persons of similar backgrounds in the community.
(c) If a parent has no recent work history or a parent’s occupation is unknown, that parent may be imputed an income at the federal minimum wage for a 40-hour work week. To impute a greater or lesser income, the judge in a judicial proceeding or the presiding officer in an administrative proceeding shall enter specific findings of fact as to the evidentiary basis for the imputation.
(d) Income may not be imputed if any of the following conditions exist and the condition is not of a temporary nature:
(i) the reasonable costs of child care for the parents’ minor children approach or equal the amount of income the custodial parent can earn;
(ii) a parent is physically or mentally unable to earn minimum wage;
(iii) a parent is engaged in career or occupational training to establish basic job skills; or
(iv) unusual emotional or physical needs of a child require the custodial parent’s presence in the home.
So, in answer to your question about whether a parent can be ordered to pay child support even if he or she does not have a job and earn an income that way, the answer is yes, that parent can be ordered to pay child support.
(78B-12-203. Determination of gross income — Imputed income.)
Utah Family Law, LC | divorceutah.com | 801-466-9277
Tags: Child Support, imputed income, income, inheritance, work