Imputing Income in Utah Divorce Cases: When a Spouse Is Underemployed or Voluntarily Unemployed

A support order is only as reliable as the income numbers that fuel it. When a parent in a divorce in Utah cuts hours or drifts into gig work, the court may “impute” a higher wage so children and dependent spouses still benefit from the earner’s true capacity. The figure a judge selects at a first temporary-orders hearing can redirect thousands of dollars every month for years, yet many litigants learn the rules only after an unpleasant surprise.

Read Law has made imputed-income issues a central battleground in dozens of Utah divorce trials and appeals, combining forensic discovery with persuasive advocacy to secure sustainable results. For a confidential strategy session with a seasoned Salt Lake City divorce lawyer, call 801-348-6723 or use the form on this page.

The Legal Starting Line

Utah’s public policy insists that children should share the economic advantage of both parents’ reasonable earning power even after divorce ends a marriage. That principle appears in Utah Code § 81-6-203, which bars imputation unless the court (i) holds a hearing and (ii) enters written findings that reference ten enumerated factors: work history, education, occupational credentials, local wages, health, literacy, age, criminal record, employment barriers, and actual job opportunities. The same section forbids imputing income when a parent has been incarcerated for six months or longer, ensuring hardship situations receive protection.

Alimony rests on Utah Code § 81-9-208(10), which lets judges weigh a payor’s “ability to produce income” against the recipient’s demonstrated need. In 2024 the Legislature enacted HB 219, directing courts to temper imputation when a spouse embarks on a bona-fide retraining program expected to raise long-term earnings—proof that policymaking evolves to reflect today’s labor market.

When income suddenly falls, judges first ask whether the spouse is still capable of earning the old wage and often base support on that figure. If spending—new cars or luxury trips—suggests hidden cash, support can be pegged to the lifestyle rather than the paycheck. A parent who shows little documentation yet lives in a strong job market might be assigned 30 hours a week at minimum wage.

By contrast, a parent in a remote area, caring for young children, or limited by a documented health condition may be charged only the income they actually earn. Judges can also set temporary amounts that rise when a retraining course ends or a realistic job appears, and they sometimes write “step-up” orders that increase automatically as new work materializes.

Everything hinges on proof—tax returns, job postings, child-care schedules. Bring solid paperwork, and the court is far likelier to land on a fair, sustainable support number.

How Utah Judges Decide Whether to Impute Income

Every contested imputation motion turns on three core questions–and each question demands robust, well-organized proof rather than conjecture:

• Capacity – Five years of W-2s and 1099s, industry certifications, military MOS codes, LinkedIn résumés, and continuing-education transcripts reveal whether the parent can command higher pay.
• Opportunity – Current job postings from the Utah Department of Workforce Services, Indeed, and LinkedIn, plus regional wage data drawn from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, show whether similar positions are actually available within the parent’s commuting radius.
• Motivation – Timeline evidence—e-mails announcing a sudden resignation filed the same week a divorce session collapses; text messages discussing “quitting to lower support”; and lifestyle shifts such as last-minute real-estate transfers—helps the court decide if the income dip is tactical.

Below is a practical checklist you can use to satisfy each prong with credible and contemporary data:

• Document Work History Thoroughly
  • Five years of IRS wage transcripts and employer pay stubs.
  • Copies of professional licenses, endorsements, or military discharge papers showing rank and specialty.
  • Continuing-education certificates and conference badges evidencing current skills.
• Collect Real-Time Labor-Market Proof
  • Printouts of at least 15 comparable job listings (title, salary range, posting date).
  • Wage surveys from the Bureau of Labor Statistics specific to the Wasatch Front or the parent’s rural county.
  • Recruiter e-mails stating whether they have open requisitions that match the parent’s résumé.
• Create a Detailed Job-Search Log
  • Date, employer, position title, application method, and company reply for every submission.
  • Rejection or “position filled” e-mails kept as PDFs.
  • Notes of networking calls or job fairs attended.
• Assemble Lifestyle and Timing Evidence
  • Credit-card statements, Tesla payments, or ski-pass receipts that contradict claims of poverty.
  • Closing statements for new mortgages or HELOC draw-downs made after the divorce petition.
  • Screenshots of social-media posts showing vacations or large purchases during alleged unemployment.
• Provide Context on Local Economic Conditions
  • Utah Department of Workforce Services monthly unemployment bulletins (e.g., the 3.3 % statewide rate reported in July 2025).
  • Press releases on plant closures or mass layoffs in single-industry towns.
  • Affidavits from regional employers confirming hiring freezes or wage cuts.

Judges demand evidence, not suspicion. In Tilleman, Mother’s 42 rejection e-mails, three recruiter letters, and labor-department statistics sank a minimum-wage imputation, while in Lunt luxury-vacation photos and private-school tuition supported a $10,000 monthly figure despite modest paystubs. Rule 201 of the Utah Rules of Evidence even lets courts take judicial notice of published unemployment data, helping an under-earner prove genuine job scarcity.

When hearings move fast, organize these materials in a binder with tabs marked Pay History, Job Search, Market Data, and Lifestyle Evidence. Parties who arrive armed with this documentation enable the judge to rule on facts rather than defaults—avoiding the statutory fallback of 30 hours per week at federal minimum wage, which can punish truly incapacitated spouses while rewarding career shifters who hide new revenue streams.

Defending Against Inflated Assumptions

When the other parent or their lawyer insists you could be earning far more than your current paycheck shows, the court will look for hard proof on both sides. If you are coping with chronic illness, primary caregiving, a layoff, or a regional hiring freeze, you must bring that reality into the courtroom in concrete form.

Start by locking down medical evidence: sworn physician letters that spell out work restrictions, occupational-therapy logs that show weekly treatment hours, prescription printouts that reveal side-effects, and—if relevant—Department of Veterans Affairs disability ratings. Next, document your job search. Keep an electronic diary of every application, résumé submission, recruiter call, and skills test. Save auto-reply e-mails and rejection letters as PDFs; aggregate them in a folder dated by month so a judge can scroll and see the pattern.

If you live in an area that recently lost a major employer, download press releases or local-news articles confirming closure dates and head-count reductions. Showing the court that hundreds of workers hit the market the same week you did sharpens the picture of genuine scarcity. Parents stationed overseas should attach Status-of-Forces documents or local work-permit rules that cap the hours a non-citizen spouse may legally work. Courts in Utah have refused minimum-wage assumptions where a parent presented a “record devoid of realistic openings,” but the burden rests on you to supply that record.

Below is a simple evidence roadmap—use it as a checklist before your first hearing:

• Health-based limits – Doctor affidavits, therapy timetables, prescription logs, disability ratings.
• Job-market data – Printouts of current postings within 50 miles, Bureau of Labor Statistics wage tables, recruiter e-mails confirming freezes.
• Personal job search – Digital diary of applications, rejection letters, interview invites, skills credentials earned while searching.
• Macro-economic proof – News articles on plant closures, employer layoff notices, state unemployment bulletins, military work-permit rules.
• Family-care duties – Daycare invoices, school schedules, affidavits from teachers or caregivers verifying who handles drop-offs, medical appointments, and therapy sessions.

Judges decide support on facts, not hunches; the better your evidence, the smaller the risk of an inflated income figure that can snowball into arrears, license suspensions, and bank levies. A brief consultation with a Utah divorce lawyer can confirm any gaps and secure subpoenas before deadlines pass, protecting both your finances and your credibility.

High-Earner Tactics and Hidden Compensation

Big earners sometimes try creative payroll tricks: resigning, forming an LLC, pulling a token salary, and funneling real profits into that new entity. Courts look past the paycheck to lifestyle clues—international trips, luxury car leases, or private-school tuition—and then peg support to the spending level, not the claimed income. Stock grants, partnership carry, and even overnight crypto gains also count once they vest or cash out, and military extras like housing or overseas cost-of-living allowances must be added in.

Discovery moves fast in Utah, with expert disclosures due 28 days after fact discovery closes, so requests for incentive-plan booklets, corrected W-2s, and stock-option ledgers need to go out during the first month of a state of Utah divorce. When companies resist, courts have approved deep-dive finance subpoenas, forcing everything from Deloitte bonus schedules to KPMG equity reports onto the table.

At trial, showing that an opposing wage expert ignored those windfalls—or used national averages instead of Utah-specific numbers—can swing the decision on how much a parent should be deemed to earn. After the decree, most orders require a parent to report bonuses within 60 days, letting support adjust automatically; tight drafting at settlement keeps that safeguard in place and prevents hidden money from sliding through the cracks.

Put Rebersliable Num on Your Future—Read Law Makes the Difference

A durable support order starts with an accurate wage figure, and no Utah firm blends appellate scholarship with courtroom resolve like Read Law. Whether you aim to prove underemployment, challenge an inflated assumption, or revisit outdated numbers after a career shift, our lawyers deploy the statutes, case law, and forensic tools that courts trust—contact us today at 801-348-6723 or through our secure online form to position proven  between your household and costly miscalculations.