Proving voluntary underemployment is important because it allows the family court to deviate from the child support guidelines. If your Woodlands Divorce Attorney can not prove your case, then the family court will apply the normal child support guidelines to the current income. However, a finding of voluntary underemployment allows the court to set child support at the “earning potential” rather than the actual earnings of the party responsible for child support.

There are two steps in a voluntary underemployment claim:

1. To begin the voluntary underemployment analysis, the family court contemplates the proof of current wages for the party responsible for child support.
2. Once the obligor’s wages are established, the burden shifts to the person claiming the other side is voluntarily underemployed to demonstrate the obligor’s intent to decrease income for the purpose of reducing child support payments. Your divorce lawyer will need evidence of intent, such as the circumstances of obligor’s education, economic adversities, business reversals, business background, and earning potential, to give rise to an inference of voluntary underemployment. These factors are not exhaustive.

It is your responsibility to prove voluntary underemployment with sufficient evidence. If you do not have enough evidence, then all your spouse has to do to defeat the claim is establish his current income. Speak with a The Woodlands Divorce Lawyer today if you need help with your divorce or child support case.

The Woodlands Divorce Resource is here to help you with your divorce, child custody, or other family law issue in Montgomery County or Harris County. Many of our visitors come from the areas of Conroe, Oak Ridge North, Cut and Shoot, and other communities in the Montgomery County area or Houston and North Harris County. If you need legal assistance with your family law issue speak with a Conroe Divorce Lawyer today.