If you are appointed the noncustodial parent in your divorce proceedings, odds are that you may also be assigned as the payor of a child support order. You may assume that the New Jersey family court will only ask about your hourly wages or annual salary to come up with a monthly payment amount. In reality, though, a wide range of income sources may be equally considered. To better prepare yourself for this likely outcome, please continue reading to learn the types of income the court will calculate towards its final child support order and how an experienced Morristown child support lawyer at Graves Andrews, LLC can fight to ensure you can sustainably afford this financial obligation.
What types of income count towards a child support order in New Jersey?
Per New Jersey’s Child Support Guidelines, the family court is advised to review gross income to ensure that both parents contribute fairly to their child’s needs. So with that, gross income, of course, includes pre-taxed hourly wages or annual salary. But also, it factors in overtime pay, tips, commissions, bonuses, and self-employment earnings, if deemed relevant. In this way, both parents’ real financial circumstances are clear, and underreporting or misrepresentation, whether intentional or not, are more easily avoided.
It is worth mentioning, though, that there is a chance the court will not count your overtime, tips, commissions, or bonuses. That is, the court may analyze multiple years’ worth of these income types to determine whether they are predictable and consistent. If these financial resources are contrastingly seen as voluntary or irregularly seasonally-based, it may be argued that a parent cannot reasonably access them for their monthly child support obligation.
What happens to my child support order if I lose my primary source of income?
Unfortunately, in the time after your child support order is set, you may lose your primary employment income. This may be because your company conducted lay-offs, you were diagnosed with a serious medical condition that forced you to give up your full-time employment or switch to part-time work, or you were involved in a catastrophic personal injury or work-related accident that left you with a life-changing disability, to name a few examples.
Well, under these circumstances, you may begin collecting unemployment, disability, or workers’ compensation benefits. For one, while your unemployment benefits may most definitely offer temporary relief, they may not completely replace your original gross income. Therefore, with the help of your attorney, we encourage you to petition for a post-judgment modification with the New Jersey family court and claim a short-term financial hardship.
Secondly, the court counts most government benefits and public assistance programs as income, while still factoring in fairness. However, this typically excludes need-based programs like Social Security Insurance (SSI) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Lastly, if you receive a workers’ compensation settlement, the court holds the right to direct a portion or garnish a portion of the payout for ongoing child support and back payments, respectively.
If you wish to gain more clarity on the situation you are dealing with, the best way to get it is by consulting with a skilled Morristown family law attorney. Get in touch with our team at Graves Andrews, LLC today.