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As a divorce lawyer in Oakland County, Michigan, I get asked a lot of questions by various friends, family and people that I meet.  One question that often comes up regarding family law, is the issue of child support and how that is calculated.  Recently, I have been frequently asked whether a second job will be included when the friend of the court calculates child support  This blog is written to broadly address the question of how the income from a second job will impact child support or potential child support in a divorce or separation in Michigan.  If you have questions regarding child support or any other family law issue, please do not hesitate to contact us to schedule a consultation by clicking on this link or calling (248) 608-4123.

Is Income From a Second Job Included When Calculating Child Support?

The short answer is yes, income from any source whatsoever to either parent is typically taken into account when calculating child support.  The reasoning behind this is that if the parents had stayed together then the child would receive the economic benefit from the parent's second job and it is not the child's fault for the divorce or separation that causes monthly child support payments.  So if one looks at it from the point of the child, it makes a certain amount of sense.

The follow-up question that I often then get is whether the parent must keep the second job.  Some people who have to pay child support or may have to pay child support would rather not work the second job and have more free time rather than work the second job if they have to pay taxes, child support and other costs associated with this second job.  The answer depends on a number of factors and requires an explanation of imputation of income.  The most important factor is really how many hours the parent works at their primary job, their regular employment - their main or first job.  If the parent is working at least 35 to 40 hours per week at that job (it really depends from court-to-court whether full-time is considered 35 or 40 hours), then they can argue that they are working a full-time job and therefore, they do not have to keep the second job.  There are many judges that agree with this position and do allow the parent to quit that job without imputing any income to that parent for purposes of child support.

However, if the parent is working less than 35 to 40 hours per week then the court may impute income to that parent.  What this means is that because the parent has an unexercised ability to work full-time but does not, the court or friend of the court may calculate how much that parent would earn if they were working full-time and use that number as the income of that parent for the purposes of calculating child support. 

So for example if a parent is working 20 hours per week earning $40,000.00 annually, but has a second job working 38 hours per week earning $35,000 annually that the parent quits voluntarily, then the court would probably use $75,000 for that parent when calculating child support.  However if the parent is working 40 hours per week at their primary job earning $75,000 and a second job working 10 hours per week earning $25,000 annually that the parent voluntarily leaves, then it is most likely the court will not impute income and use $75,000 as that parent's income when determining the monthly amount of child support. 

This is a somewhat complicated area of the law.  You can always quit your second job or even stop working entirely, however in addition to the economic issues you might face if you do this, the court will most likely impute income to you which can result in you owing child support that you may not be able to pay and if the arrears get high enough, the court can take your car, your driver's license and even put you in jail. If you have specific questions regarding any area of family law, including child support, alimony, divorce, separation or prenuptial agreements, please contact us to schedule a consultation by clicking on this link or calling (248) 608-4123.