In Sacramento child support or spousal support cases, it is important to realize that each parent has an obligation to support their child to the best of their ability, and to earn income commensurate with their skills, abilities, and experience. In a Sacramento County child support or spousal support case, it can be helpful to obtain a vocational evaluation of your spouse, particularly if you believe they are not earning income that matches their skills, abilities and experience.
A vocational evaluation is conducted by a trained professional evaluator. They will analyze your spouse’s educational training, resume, working history, medical records (as applicable), and may even test your spouses’ math, reasoning, and verbal skills. The vocational evaluator will try to determine your spouse’s earning capacity and then prepare a report analyzing it. This vocational evaluation, plus the testimony of the vocational evaluator, can be tremendously helpful in establishing your spouse’s true earning potential to the court. If the vocational evaluation shows your spouse is underemployed, or unemployed, the court can use the vocational evaluation to forcibly input income to your spouse. This is the court’s way of financially forcing a lazy or unmotivated spouse to seek work due to the lost opportunity for child or spousal support.
If you are involved in a Sacramento child support or spousal support case and you believe your spouse is not applying themselves to their earning potential, please contact our office today. We offer a free half hour consultation to discuss your rights and the vocational evaluation process further.
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