Legal Question in Family Law in California
I believe my husband may be sabotaging his employment with the hopes of replacing it with an under-the-table job. How do I protect myself from becoming financially liable for him if he does lose his job? He is an able bodied man with an attitude problem and we are on the brink of a separation.
2 Answers from Attorneys
I apologize for having to say this but your husband can make decisions for his own career. To not be liable you need to be divorced. Any earnings or losses during marriage are the responsibility of both parties to the marriage. You need to talk him out of it. If not, you might want to divorce before he becomes unemployed. Even then some lawyers can get tricky with alimony payments. Talk to him or consider divorce.
You need to contact a divorce attorney immediately. I can�t think of a contract that would make his income separate property since so much comingling goes along with the incomes of both spouses.
Perhaps someone can think of some better advice. But the above is my opinion from my own experience with divorce.
A more reasoned answer would point out that both parties have a legal responsibility to become as gainfully employed as possible. That principle is what California law provides.
If your husband is under employed or underutilizing his employable skills, he may need to participate in a court ordered vocational evaluation.
If the report determine said he has a greater ability to produce ihigher earnings, then the court could use that higher earning capacity to calculate support.
Please meet with an experienced family law attorney to explore your legal options.