If you are contemplating divorce and realize that you will not be able to maintain your current salary after the divorce, i.e., you cannot work 25 hours of overtime a week and still see your children, reducing your salary now without later reprisal from the court will take planning. You will need to prove that your salary reduction was not voluntary or spiteful. A legitimate way of reducing your salary might be to change careers with the blessing of your spouse. Another way is to reduce your overtime gradually, so that there’s not a sudden drop in income. You may want to ask for a transfer to a different department where overtime is not available or required, or where the salary is less (and perhaps the workload is less too). Asking your employer to delay or defer a raise, commission or bonus may reduce your salary but be careful about this, as you’re required to be honest about your assets and income. If you’re entitled to a bonus, and you don’t list it on your financial statement provided to the court, you may be found to have fraudulently misrepresented your income or assets–and the ramifications of such a finding by a judge will be much worse than the child support you would have paid! For excellent resources on co-parenting, click here.
Oftentimes foregoing a raise, promotion, or bonus punishes your as well as the recipient of the support monies. For example, in Connecticut in 2000, support for one child is around 21% of your net income. So for each $1 in your pocket, you keep 79 cents. And that money doesn’t just disappear, it is part of your parenting responsibilities to provide for your child’s welfare. That commitment was made when you decided to have children. Divorce can certainly put a different spin on the feelings associated with support; try and separate those feelings from your sense of obligation and powerful desire to care for your child. Click here for another great article on co-parenting.
Excerpted from Your Divorce Advisor: A Lawyer and a Psychologist Guide You Through the Legal and Emotional Landscape of Divorce (Simon & Schuster/Fireside 2001). For more information: http://www.yourdivorceadvisor.com/.
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