Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support
When calculating retroactive support in Florida, if a parent wants to impute income to the other parent, the same rules apply for imputation that apply when calculating ongoing support: The party seeking imputation must show “a. The unemployment or underemployment is voluntary; and b. Identifies the amount and source of the imputed income, through evidence of income from available employment for which the party is suitably qualified by education, experience, current licensure, or geographic location, . .“ § 61.30(2)(b)1., Fla. Stat. (2022).
In the case Lemoine v. Jackson, 5D22-1433 (Fla. 5th DCA December 29, 2023), the mother disputed imputation of income to her. The trial court imputed $160,000 annual income to the mother from her last child support payment in 2015 until December 2018 based solely on the mother’s 2012 income. The appellate court noted the father “failed to present any evidence of available employment at that income level, for which Appellant was qualified, during the imputation time period.” Therefore, the case was reversed on this issue and remanded for correction.
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