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Leigh's picture

Submitted by Leigh on Sun, 08/03/2008 - 8:56am

If BM doesn't have a job but SF does, can she be forced to pay CS? She is totally capable of working, just chooses not to.

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_Jess_'s picture

Submitted by _Jess_ on Sun, 08/03/2008 - 9:07am

But if the court agrees BM is capable of working, it could choose to impute income to her and order her to pay CS.

Thank God, though, that a step-parents income isn't part of the equation. That would piss me off to no end.

Sia's picture

Submitted by Sia on Sun, 08/03/2008 - 7:30pm

based on what she is capable of making (based on past jobs) or go on minimum wage. Though, in my state.....yrs ago, if a parent was soley supported by a spouse, they figured the spouses income into it. They did not make the spouse accountable to pay, just based the CS on the spouse. They don't do that anymore though.

luvdagirl's picture

Submitted by luvdagirl on Mon, 08/04/2008 - 12:54am

My brother was jobless for a while(he was trying to grow up and going through crap) he was ordered to pay 40/wk for each of his kids- he got a job fast!
Some states will consider spouses income if they are sole supporters of the NCP.

There is no reason where logic does not exist

Gmama's picture

Submitted by Gmama on Mon, 08/04/2008 - 3:08pm

income didn't work in our case.BM DID work in the past,but Quit her job when she moved,The court did NOT imput her past income,she was making 13.00 and hour, they went by minimum wage (6.50) to base her income on. My husband pays 81% of his childs needs she pays 19,and we have to carry health insurance,and he only sees his son twice a year,(SS lives out of state) so in our case it turned out to be a joke.she came out smelling like a rose. in MN they are suppose to Impute past income they didn't even get into her past working history.

Voice Of Reason's picture

Submitted by Voice Of Reason (not verified) on Fri, 08/08/2008 - 3:28pm

As you can tell by the prior answers, the answer varies depending on the state you live in, and the judge who handled the case. Usually, the new spouse's income is not considered for CS -- but there have been cases where it was considered. The basis for this was the income of the new spouse permitted greater resources of the bio father to be devoted to his primary child/ren. In recent cases, the NCP, even if she is the BM, has had income imputed to her. The usual reasoning for imputing lower amounts is the BM has not worked for several years and can not just pick up where she left off. (Judges also consider other factors when imputing a lower amount.) The sad truth is second wives (that don't marry rich men) are usually expected to work. The reasoning for this seems to be the second, third, fourth, etc. wives knew when they married their spouse that he was obligated to support a former family -- and they married the guy anyways.