Court orders

Income for child support

Ability to earn (income)

The court can consider a parent’s ability to earn based on:

• past earnings
• current physical and mental health
• history of child care responsibilities and periods of physical placement
  Example: A parent is the primary caretaker of the child and has remained at home with the child rather than working outside the home
• education, training, and current work experience
• local job openings

Your ability to earn might change if you get laid off. However, if you decide to reduce your hours to part-time, your ability to earn has not changed.

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