People who have children don’t necessarily get to make a clean break at the end of a relationship. Instead, they may need to see their former partner regularly for custody exchanges. They likely need to communicate regularly to make decisions about the children’s upbringing.
The higher-earning parent or parent with less overnight parenting time may have to make regular payments to the other parent in the form of child support. People frequently resent the obligation to provide child support to the other parents of their children. Some parents seek more parenting time than they intend to utilize in hopes of diminishing support orders.
Others may go so far as to quit well-paid jobs or move into lower-paying positions in the hopes of diminishing their financial support obligations. Can one parent deny the other and their shared children financial support by becoming voluntarily unemployed or underemployed?
The courts are familiar with child support avoidance
The tactics that parents use to avoid child support obligations are often the same from one case to the next. People quitting their jobs or looking for positions that pay them cash under the table is a common tactic. Parents with degrees and professional licenses sometimes leave well-paid jobs in the hopes of diminishing their child support obligations.
The courts can consider earning potential, not just current income, when reviewing child support issues. If one parent only makes a fraction of what they could potentially earn based on their employment history, prior income and education, then the other parent could reasonably assert that their actions are intentional and unfairly deprive the children of the financial support that they deserve.
The courts do sometimes agree to reduce or modify child support obligations when people lose their jobs or experience a reduction in household income. However, parents receiving support can raise questions about the validity of a modification request and the current income of the other parent.
Learning more about how the courts handle initial child support orders and modification requests can be beneficial for parents with minor children. Intentional unemployment and underemployment do not absolve a parent of their obligation to support their children.
