Imputation of income

[Before you can make things better, you have to stop making them worse...]

I have kind of a unique situation. I would like to know if anyone has an opinion on how an imputation of income study might turn out.

Here's the short version: I made millions in business before 2007. Starting in 2008, I eventually lost it all in a series of failed business endeavors and investments. No net income whatsoever for five years. Now I've given up on being in business anymore and I'm simply looking for a job to pay the bills. I'm concerned the court is going to assume I'm not really trying to make the income I'm capable of and I'll end up like Exonerated (dude, your story could scare the crap out of anyone).

If anyone is interested in "the long of it", here goes:

I started a business in the early 90's saving money for businesses on their utility bills. I made a chance discovery that many businesses were being over-taxed unbeknownst to them. I leveraged this information into a good income, and by the early 2000's, my company was netting six figures a year. It was almost too easy to make money. The good times peaked in 2007 with a once-in-a-lifetime IRS concession that resulted in most of our clients getting huge refunds. My company made millions that year.  I shut the company down the next year because the opportunity in this arena seemed to be drying up for good.  Plus I wanted to do something new.

So I took the capital I had accumulated and assumed that since I was successful in one business, that I could do well in others. BIG MISTAKE. I tried to start several companies but fell flat on my face. I invested in risky ventures and technologies and got burned badly. Stocks - I lost. (It's humiliating feeling this stupid... .  I look in the mirror and I see the quintessential Powerball winner who's penniless a few years later.)  Bottom line: Except for a few long term investments that aren't liquid, the money is pretty much gone.  

I spent the last year beating the bushes for a new business idea, not trying to reach for former glory necessarily but to start building again. I came up blank. Now, I'm just trying to get a regular job when it's been 22 years since I worked for somebody else. And I'm beginning to realize with horror that I don't have any hard job skills that will translate into more than $40K a year.

Both her and her lawyer have stated that they feel I am capable of being a high income earner because of my history. How do you think my situation will be seen as far as imputation of earning ability?

To make matters worse, the string of failures has taken its toll on my confidence. My BPDw made damned sure I internalized every bit of this self loathing every day, then backed her words with action by leaving me six months ago and shortly thereafter finding my replacement. The shock and grief of being abandoned when I was at my lowest by my mate of 20 years just adds to the black cloud that hangs over me most days. My doc started me up on anti-depressants. It's not that I'm giving up; I resolve each day to push past the negative emotions and keep doing what needs to be done; it just makes it more challenging to get out there and compete for a good job. (BTW so many of you really inspire me in the way you are going through WAY worse circumstances yet are keeping steady through it all... .  ).  Since this isn't the Detaching forum, I'll add a question to make this paragraph pertinent: might the evaluators take into account my shaky mental state when imputing present earning capacity, if we could get a doctor's evaluation to that effect?

[Vinnie]

I have kind of a unique situation. I would like to know if anyone has an opinion on how an imputation of income study might turn out.

Here's the short version: I made millions in business before 2007. Starting in 2008, I eventually lost it all in a series of failed business endeavors and investments. No net income whatsoever for five years. Now I've given up on being in business anymore and I'm simply looking for a job to pay the bills. I'm concerned the court is going to assume I'm not really trying to make the income I'm capable of and I'll end up like Exonerated (dude, your story could scare the crap out of anyone).

If anyone is interested in "the long of it", here goes:

I started a business in the early 90's saving money for businesses on their utility bills. I made a chance discovery that many businesses were being over-taxed unbeknownst to them. I leveraged this information into a good income, and by the early 2000's, my company was netting six figures a year. It was almost too easy to make money. The good times peaked in 2007 with a once-in-a-lifetime IRS concession that resulted in most of our clients getting huge refunds. My company made millions that year.  I shut the company down the next year because the opportunity in this arena seemed to be drying up for good.  Plus I wanted to do something new.

So I took the capital I had accumulated and assumed that since I was successful in one business, that I could do well in others. BIG MISTAKE. I tried to start several companies but fell flat on my face. I invested in risky ventures and technologies and got burned badly. Stocks - I lost. (It's humiliating feeling this stupid... .  I look in the mirror and I see the quintessential Powerball winner who's penniless a few years later.)  Bottom line: Except for a few long term investments that aren't liquid, the money is pretty much gone.  

I spent the last year beating the bushes for a new business idea, not trying to reach for former glory necessarily but to start building again. I came up blank. Now, I'm just trying to get a regular job when it's been 22 years since I worked for somebody else. And I'm beginning to realize with horror that I don't have any hard job skills that will translate into more than $40K a year.

Both her and her lawyer have stated that they feel I am capable of being a high income earner because of my history. How do you think my situation will be seen as far as imputation of earning ability?

To make matters worse, the string of failures has taken its toll on my confidence. My BPDw made damned sure I internalized every bit of this self loathing every day, then backed her words with action by leaving me six months ago and shortly thereafter finding my replacement. The shock and grief of being abandoned when I was at my lowest by my mate of 20 years just adds to the black cloud that hangs over me most days. My doc started me up on anti-depressants. It's not that I'm giving up; I resolve each day to push past the negative emotions and keep doing what needs to be done; it just makes it more challenging to get out there and compete for a good job. (BTW so many of you really inspire me in the way you are going through WAY worse circumstances yet are keeping steady through it all... .  ).  Since this isn't the Detaching forum, I'll add a question to make this paragraph pertinent: might the evaluators take into account my shaky mental state when imputing present earning capacity, if we could get a doctor's evaluation to that effect?

[charred]

My state used the last two years 1040's to figure your income, then had a formula that the person that made more paid 44% of the difference to the one that made less as spousal support... with the length of payments set by the court.  My problem was that I had lost my job about 8 mos before my divorce and had no income... and made a lot the two prior years... .  which is what they based it on.

So what is my point... there is probably a state formula that is used to determine the amounts... so you can see how it is calculated... and the second point... that formula is the default one... .  the two parties to the divorce can agree on whatever they want, and so long as the court doesn't find it unreasonable, the agreement will stand. So it comes down to what you can get her to agree to, or the state guideline.

What would you want the agreement to be... something based on what you actually make? Your attorney can probably draw up such an agreement... I was with my wife for 22 yrs... and she started out hell bent on ruining me, and after about 4 mos of back and forth calmed down and agreed to terms we could both live with... and I promised to help out with various things above and beyond straight spousal support... you can be creative... if you can get them to agree.

[Vinnie]

Charred,

Thanks. That does give some hope, confirms my strategy. I do think she truly believes I am doing the best I can.  The key is not to trigger her and to stay "on good terms" which is hard but doable (been practicing for a couple decades). Our kids think I am rolling over and showing belly, but  I tell them that trying to win a fight with a disordered person is like warning a suicide bomber that there will be severe consequences for going through with something like that.

[charred]

My strategies came from an excellent book on divorce strategy for men.

divorce-strategies    dot com.

It helped me get my divorce done in 4 mos, with terms both exwife and I could live with... when we started out with her dead set on ruining me.

May not help, but for $50... it saved me more than my college costs... so seemed well worth it.

[hell0kitty]

When they imputed my BFs income, they looked at his age, sex and decided from there what he would earn.  It was higher than what he makes, but since he was business owner they just went with it.  BPDex was  a business owner too, and showed tax docs that claimed she only made $12,000 per year.  They did the same thing to her, made it higher based on her age and sex.  Since she was a woman it was less than my BF even though they both do the exact same thing for a living and have the exact same education (They met in school)

There is a chart that shows what your imputed income would be in our state on the county website in the same place all of the documents are stored for people who are representing themselves.  You likely will be able to find this. 

I know they also ask for the last 2 years of taxes.