Reconciling remote learning with imputed income for custodial parents

• Published date: 01 April 2022
• Author: Audrey R. P. Brittingham
• Date: 01 April 2022
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12636

SPECIAL ISSUE ARTICLE

Reconciling remote learning with imputed income

for custodial parents

Audrey R. P. Brittingham

Mallor Grodner LLP, Bloomington,

Indiana, USA

Correspondence

Audrey R. P. Brittingham, Mallor Grodner LLP,

511 Woodscrest Drive, Bloomington, IN

47401, USA.

Email: abrittingham@lawmg.com

Abstract

One of the logical, yet seemingly unanticipated, effects of

the COVID-19 pandemic has been the exodus of parents,

primarily mothers, from the workplace. An October 2020

Pew study indicates that as many as 30% of parents

reduced work hours or left the workforce all together, with

a pronounced burden falling on working mothers. This

paper examines one possible consequence of voluntary

under- or unemployment by these parents: imputed income

for the purposes of calculating child support. Forecasters

predict that remote learning is now an option schools will

likely turn to again to address all sorts of possible problems

from environmental disasters to flu outbreaks. Family law

practitioners should be prepared to deal with this likelihood,

and should be ready to address the possible effects on child

support with their clients.

KEYWORDS

child support, COVID, family law, imputed income, remote

learning

Key Points for Practitioners

•Many caretakers voluntarily left the workforce to care

for children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

•Existing caselaw and statutes in many states impute income

for child support purposes for parents who voluntarily

leave the workforce or reduce their work hours to care for

their children during a pandemic or other crisis.

DOI: 10.1111/fcre.12636

© 2022 Association of Family and Conciliation Courts.

Family Court Rev. 2022;60:181–197. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/fcre 181

•Courts should refrain from imputing income to a custodial

parent who leaves the workforce or reduces his or her work

hours to facilitate the children's remote learning during an

exigency; in this type of situation, courts should either use

their discretion to deviate from child support guidelines and

statutes or, if applicable, not impute income to such a parent

pursuant to a “good faith-best interests standard.”

•State legislatures or judicial committees should revise or

add rules or statutes adopting the “good faith best inter-

ests”standard for guidance to courts considering whether

to impute income when a parent voluntarily leaves the

workforce or reduces his or her work hours; application of

the standard would require imputing income to the custo-

dial parent only if the parent's decision to leave the work-

force or reduce work hours was made in bad faith or is not

in the children's best interests.

INTRODUCTION

Since March 2020, the United States has adjusted to a new normal. States have modified their laws restricting

healthcare coverage of telemedicine

1

; our collective lexicon has expanded to include words like “quarantini,

2

”

“maskne,

3

”“the rona,

4

”and “zoom

5

;”and many of us now sing while washing our hands.

6

While vaccines have led

to lifted restrictions, it is unlikely we will ever return to pre-pandemic “normal.”In fact, forecasters are predicting

that practices adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic will remain constant and permanent.

7

Lifestyle shifts due to COVID-19 have included things like job loss,

8

remote schooling, and remote work; all

trends that have persisted affected our lives even after restrictions lifted.

9

Many of these changes have had

1

FED'NOFSTATE MED.BDS.,U.S. STATES AND TERRITORIES MODIFYING REQUIREMENTS FOR TELEHEALTH IN RESPONSE TO COVID-19 (last updated Feb. 1, 2021), https:

//www.fsmb.org/siteassets/advocacy/pdf/states-waiving-licensure-requirements-for-telehealth-in-response-to-covid-19.pdf.

2

Cocktails consumed to pass the quarantine time.

3

Acne caused by constant mask wearing.

4

A not-so-affectionate term for coronavirus.

5

As both a noun and adjective.

6

See Maryn McKenna, Rigorous Hand-Washing Will Be Part of COVID-19's New Normal,WIRED (June 2, 2020, 7:00 AM) https://www.wired.com/story/

rigorous-hand-washing-will-be-part-of-covid-19s-new-normal/.

7

See, e.g., Mark Muro, et al., How COVID-19 Will Change the Nation's Long-Term Economic Trends,According to Brookings Metro Scholars,BROOKINGS(Apr.

14, 2020) https://www.brookings.edu/research/how-covid-19-will-change-the-nations-long-term-economic-trends-brookings-metro/; Lewis Dartnell, The

COVID-19 Changes That Could Last Long-Term, BBC: FUTURE (June 29, 2020) https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200629-which-lockdown-changes-are-

here-to-stay.

8

See, e.g., Kim Parker et al., Economic Fallout From COVID-19 Continues To Hit Lower-Income Americans the Hardest,PEWRESEARCH CTR. (Sept, 24, 2020),

https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2020/09/24/economic-fallout-from-covid-19-continues-to-hit-lower-income-americans-the-hardest.

9

See Kate Lister, Work-At-Home After Covid-19—Our Forecast,GLOBAL WORKPLACE ANALYTICS (last visited Dec. 28, 2020) https://globalworkplaceanalytics.

com/work-at-home-after-covid-19-our-forecast. Employers have found that workflow does not necessarily decrease when their employees work from

home and that it saves the company money. Of course, not all jobs areable to accommodate remote-work. It is important to note that remote-capable jobs

are often those that require more education and provide greater pay, which causes further concerns regarding inequality. See also Kristen Senz, How Much

Will Remote Work Continue After the Pandemic?,W

ORKING KNOWLEDGE:BUSINESS RESEARCH FOR BUSINESS LEADERS (Aug. 24, 2020) https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/

how-much-will-remote-work-continue-after-the-pandemic; See also Alexander Barti et al., What Jobs Are Bing Done at Home During the COVID-19 Crisis?

Evidence from Firm-Level Surveys (Harvard Business Sch., Working Paper No. 20–138, 2020).

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