Introduction

• Author: Nicholas L. Bourdeau
• Pages: 10-10

The Determination of Income for Child Support F-6 The Determination of Income for Child Support F-6

Introduction

This manual is designed for child support investigators. It is designed for those individuals who

have the responsibility for determining the amount of income a parent has available to pay child sup-

port. The manual is for investigators in child support enforcement agencies, paralegals, private inves-

tigators, financial investigators, CPAs, and attorneys. The manual does not assume a high level of

expertise on the part of the user. Each section starts with the basics and proceeds to the more complex.

The goal was that anyone with a basic understanding of their own finances could use this manual to

complete a child support investigation.

I am a veteran of over one thousand family law engagements and have provided testimony over one

hundred and fifty times. I have been a contract instructor for child support enforcement agencies, teaching

investigators how to determine the income of parents. I am a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Accredited

in Business Valuations (ABV), Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF), and a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE).

I have published and continue to develop software that computes child support. This manual takes the sum

of my experience and training and focuses it on the subject of the determination of income for child support.

The underlying concept throughout the manual is the determination of economic income or income

available for child support. The terms are used interchangeably. This income may differ significantly from

taxable income, net income, positive cash flow, net revenue or any other number of terms used to indicate

income. Economic income as it is pursued in this manual may differ from the income that is mandated by

local regulations. Since it is not possible to address every difference in every regulation in this manual, it is

the responsibility of investigators to know and understand the differences. Local regulations and case law

take precedent over any economic theory.

The examples and the associated characters in this manual are fictitious. Any resemblance to real

people or events is purely coincidental.

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