Do Your Child Support Obligations Change If You Trade in Your Entrepreneurship Dreams for a 9 to 5?
Entrepreneurship can be rough on marriages. You might think of your ex-spouse’s business venture as the homewrecker who stole your ex’s heart. You might even blame certain social media influencers for whispering lies into your ex’s ears, promising him that he would be rich if he would only quit his job and spend money to make money, except that the money he spent was marital property, and he never earned it back. While many wives of serial entrepreneurs would jump for joy if their husbands would get boring jobs with regular paychecks, at least one woman complained vociferously in court when her husband did this. She claimed that his employment income counted as being underemployed; she claimed that he used to earn more when he was self-employed. The argument about whether entrepreneurship or employment offers better protection against financial uncertainty is ultimately unwinnable, but if the parties to this dispute are divorced parents of a minor child, the court must take sides. If your ex-spouse is complaining that you do not make enough money now that you have changed jobs, contact a Boca Raton child support lawyer.
In What Universe Does Taking a Salaried Job Count as Being Underemployed?
The worst thing about being self-employed is that you immediately feel the fluctuations in income that your company undergoes. A lot of people who work in professions where you can run your own operation or work for a corporate employer eventually choose the 9 to 5 route when they get too tired of dealing with all the business taxes and the depositing of personal funds into business accounts to cover the business venture’s financial setbacks. Some such professions include primary care physicians and music teachers, among many others.
A Florida father started a series of tech companies, closing each one down before opening a new one. Shortly after his divorce, he decided to get out of the self-employment rat race. Therefore, he closed his company and took a salaried job with a company that had been a client of his business venture. The result was that his monthly income was about 25 percent lower than it had been when the parties filed for divorce.
Based on this change in financial circumstances, the former husband filed a petition to reduce his child support obligations. The court denied his petition. It reasoned that the husband had changed his work situation of his own accord, knowing that it would reduce his income. Reduction of child support obligations only occurs when you experience a reduction in income that happened for reasons outside your control, like your employer firing you, not being able to work as much because of health problems, or your entrepreneurship venture failing because of market forces.
Contact Schwartz | White About Child Support Disputes
A South Florida family law attorney can help you if your ex-spouse claims that you are avoiding work to avoid paying child support. Contact Schwartz | White in Boca Raton, Florida about your case.
Source:
scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=6708790943979367514&q=divorce+van&hl=en&as_sdt=4,10&as_ylo=2014&as_yhi=2024
