Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support
Should income be imputed to a spouse who stays home to raise children in a Florida divorce? The answer depends on the history of caretaking in the household and/or if the parties agreed a spouse should stay home to care for the children. This was an issue in the case Wilkins v. Wilkins, 1D20-1908 (Fla. 1st DCA March 17, 2021).
A temporary relief hearing was held in the parties’ divorce case at which the trial court ordered the wife to make child support payments to the husband. The evidence showed the parties agreed the wife would live with family in Jacksonville and take care of their child and her child from a prior relationship while she finished her nursing degree. The trial court found the wife had only taken one course since moving in with her family and therefore it was appropriate to impute her to minimum wage. The wife appealed.
While upholding the temporary relief order generally, the appellate court reversed the imputation of income to the wife. The court reasoned: “Although a trial court is generally ‘required to impute income to a parent who is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed, pursuant to section 61.30(2)(b), Florida Statutes (2003)’ [internal citation omitted], this Court has held that ‘[g]reat deference should be accorded the joint decision of the parties that the wife should stay home to care for the children . . . , notwithstanding any personal feelings the trial court or this court may have concerning the ultimate wisdom of that decision.’ Zeigler v. Zeigler, 635 So. 2d 50, 55 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994). Here, the trial court did not explain why imputing income to [the former wife] was appropriate when the couple had agreed that she should stay home to care for the children and attend college; no evidence suggests that [the former wife] was required or expected to generate income.”
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