Legal Question in Family Law in Michigan

Re: imputed wages

Imputed wages is used to increase a person's child support. It means if a person has the ability and opportunity to work but chooses not to work in an effort to keep his or her income down, the court will impute wages to the parent. The court imputing wages is basically saying 'since you choose not to work, I'm going to treat you as if you earned according to your potential." A parent who earns $500 per week but has the ability and means to earn $1000 per week will have the additional $500 imputed to him or her. The court will then treat that individual as if he or she earns $1000 per week, thereby increasing his or her child support.