What if my partner is paid in cash or is hiding money to avoid paying spousal support?
One of the most important factors used to calculate the amount of is the gross annual income of each partner. Gross income means income before taxes and most other deductions.
You and your partner must share detailed information about all sources of income. This includes exchanging financial documents that show how much you make and where your income comes from.
Hidden income
Sometimes financial documents do not show the whole picture of what a partner makes or could be making. This can be because they:
- work for cash
- are not actively looking for a job
- are underemployed by only working part-time or in a low paying job
- are not reporting all their income
- are giving false information
- are self-employed and claiming deductions that are not true business expenses or keeping money in their company that could be used for support
In these situations, you can ask the judge to . This means asking the judge to decide that your partner earns more than they say or can earn more.
A judge imputes income based on what the support is capable of earning or what the judge thinks the support payor actually earns. The judge looks at things like their work history, past income, education, lifestyle, and job opportunities.