First know that both parents are legally responsible for supporting the kiddos—not just the parent who pays support.
With a few exceptions, if one parent does not have income, the Court will impute full time income to that parent before calculating maintenance or support. In other words, we will assign income to that parent before calculating support and assume they earn at a full time rate based on theirpotential for earning income.
How much will the Court impute? Your case is unique. Your attorney and the court will consider a number of factors including: how long the parent been out of the workforce; work and income history; their education and earning potential? If the parent has limited or no work history and no education
As a general pattern, it is common for courts to impute one of the following three incomes:
1. Minimum wage ($7.23 per hour);
2. $10.00 per hour or;
3. Approximately the income she or he made at their last job.
There are cases where we do not impute income. For example: when a parent is in school full time and that education is likely to lead to an increase in their income; when the parent is the primary caregiver for the parties’ disabled child; the parent is physically or mentally disabled or the parent is the primary caregiver of the parties’ child who 30 months or younger.
