Legal Question in Family Law in California

Spouse 1 and spouse 2 divorce, and spouse 2 gets the children. Spouse 1 has a decent job, and pays child support for a few months, then quits or loses their job. Spouse 1 refuses to get a new job and moves in with their parents. They stop paying child support all together. Spouse 1 is not on unemployment or welfare, because his parents are well off and take care of all his needs. Spouse 2 is left paying all child related bills.

Question: Can a court compel spouse 1 to look for work / get a job, even part time, to contribute something in child support, or can spouse 1 continue to remain unemployed and not pay anything towards the children? What are spouse 2's options at this point, if any?


Asked on 1/27/11, 8:07 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

First off, unless spouse 1 has gone to court and obtained an order modifying the support, the child support is accruing arrearages and 10% interest as well. Due to the 13th amendment, a court cannot force a person to work under threat of contempt of court. What the California Supreme Court has ruled, however, and has not been overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, is that the courts can order a person to find work under threat of being imputed earnings. What this means is that the courts issue a find work order. The person subject to the order then has two choices. They can try to find work and if they find it they have to take it and pay support, but if they don't find it, they do not have to pay support. Or they can fail or refuse to try to find work, in which case the custodial parent can have them ordered to pay support on the basis of what the court finds they could have/should have earned. Then if they don't pay, they are in contempt and can be fined or jailed.

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Answered on 2/08/11, 11:20 pm


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