You are here: / / COURTS HAVE THE DISCRETION TO DECLINE TO IMPUTE INCOME TO A PARENT WHO...

COURTS HAVE THE DISCRETION TO DECLINE TO IMPUTE INCOME TO A PARENT WHO HAS VOLUNTARILY REDUCED HIS OR HER INCOME FOR A COMPELLING REASON, HERE, ALTHOUGH FATHER TOOK A LOWER PAYING JOB IN NORTH CAROLINA BECAUSE HIS WIFE TOOK A HIGHER PAYING JOB IN NORTH CAROLINA, FATHER’S CHILD SUPPORT OBLIGATION WAS NOT REDUCED, RATHER THE COURT IMPUTED A PORTION OF THE WIFE’S NEW HIGHER INCOME TO KEEP FATHER’S OBLIGATION AT THE SAME LEVEL (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department determined the court had the discretion to reduce father’s child support payments, even though father voluntarily took a lower paying job in North Carolina where his wife had found a job which increased her income by $30,000. The court’s conclusion it did not have the authority to reduce father’s child support obligation in this circumstance was itself deemed an abuse of discretion by the Fourth Department. However the Fourth Department didn’t change father’s obligation, rather it imputed some of the wife’s new higher income to the father:

… [C]ourts may decline to impute income when a parent has a voluntary reduction in income and a legitimate and reasonable basis for such a reduction … . Indeed, the general rule that “a parent who voluntarily quits a job will not be deemed without fault in losing such employment . . . should not be inflexibly applied where a parent quits a job for a sufficiently compelling reason” … . …

We thus agree with the father that the court erred when it stated that it was not permitted to reduce the father’s child support obligation even if his decision to take a lower-paying job was reasonable. …

It was undisputed that the entire reason the father left his higher-paying job in New York was so that his wife could accept a higher-salaried position in North Carolina, which resulted in a net increase in the income of his new family unit. Inasmuch as the father’s voluntary decision to leave his lucrative position for a lesser-paying position “unquestionably improved [his overall] financial condition” … , we conclude that we may impute some portion of the wife’s higher salary to the father … . Matter of Montgomery v List, 2019 NY Slip Op 04560, Fourth Dept 6-7-19

 

You might also like
FAILURE OF NO-FAULT BENEFIT ASSIGNEE TO APPEAR AT EXAMINATIONS UNDER OATH (EUO’S) REQUESTED BY THE CARRIER IS NOT A DEFENSE TO THE CARRIER’S OBLIGATION TO PAY THE NO-FAULT CLAIMS WHERE COVERAGE HAS NOT BEEN TIMELY DENIED (FOURTH DEPT).
INADEQUATE WAIVER OF RIGHT TO COUNSEL REQUIRED REVERSAL; PRESERVATION OF THIS ISSUE NOT NECESSARY.
ISSUE OF FACT WHETHER DRIVER WITH THE RIGHT OF WAY SHOULD HAVE SEEN THE CAR THAT WAS NOT SLOWING DOWN AS IT APPROACHED THE INTERSECTION, SUPREME COURT REVERSED, TWO-JUSTICE DISSENT (FOURTH DEPT).
Trial Court Should Not Have Precluded Expert Testimony Based Upon Failure to Make Timely Disclosures— Rather, the Trial Should Have Been Adjourned
PLAINTIFF’S MOTION PAPERS RAISED A QUESTION OF FACT WHETHER HIS FAILURE TO USE A LADDER WAS THE SOLE PROXIMATE CAUSE OF HIS FALL, PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT SHOULD HAVE BEEN DENIED WITHOUT REFERENCE TO THE OPPOSING PAPERS.
SNOW REMOVAL CONTRACTOR’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN THIS SLIP AND FALL CASE SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED, CONTRACTOR DID NOT LAUNCH AN INSTRUMENT OF HARM.
THE JUDGE SHOULD NOT HAVE RELIED ON EVIDENCE GIVEN AT A MATERIAL WITNESS HEARING, FROM WHICH DEFENDANT WAS PROPERLY EXCLUDED, AT A SUBSEQUENT SIROIS HEARING AT WHICH THE WITNESS DID NOT TESTIFY (FOURTH DEPT).
NOTE OF ISSUE AND CERTIFICATE OF READINESS CONTAINING INCORRECT INFORMATION (I.E., DISCOVERY WAS COMPLETE) SHOULD HAVE BEEN VACATED; STIPULATION OF CONFIDENTIALITY WAS SUFFICIENT TO PROTECT TRADE SECRETS (FOURTH DEPT).

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2025 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

THE QUALIFIED DOMESTIC RELATIONS ORDER (QDRO) OBTAINED BY STIPULATION OF SETTLEMENT... DEFENDANT DID NOT DEMONSTRATE AS A MATTER OF LAW THAT COKE OVENS USED IN THE...