In an unpublished decision released by the court of appeals on July 17, 2012, that court held that the trial court must find that a parent is actually capable of working before the court may impute income to the parent for the purposes of calculating and assessing child support.
The mother suffered from mental illness as established by testimony of a psychologist at a hearing. She had not worked in 1995 and was not working. She was capable of teaching piano lessons, but had been deemed to be a threat to her own children. She does not receive SSI. She is totally dependent upon her parents for support.Nevertheless, the trial court imputed income to her of $12,500.
The court of appeals reversed and remanded, holding that before a court may impute income to a parent, the court must first find that the parent is capable of working.
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