In Re Marriage of Schulze

Summary

A father working for his parents' company had actual wages of $6,628 per month. The trial court added $1,100 in imputed income for a below-market condo rent and a company car, labeled it "nontaxable," and ordered family support of $4,780, over 83 percent of his after-tax income. The spousal component nearly matched the DissoMaster's temporary support figure. The court upheld including the benefits as employee-benefit income under section 4058 but held that treating them as nontaxable was error. It also held that using the temporary support figure as the baseline for permanent spousal support was error. It reversed and remanded for recalculation, and also reversed the $5,000 sanction and the lump-sum fee order.

What it means for the financial analysis

In income analysis, employer-provided perquisites such as housing subsidies and vehicles can be included as income, but the tax liability on them must be reflected in net disposable income, so the analysis should address their tax treatment. Spousal support work should rest on the section 4320 factors rather than a software temporary-support output, though the court did not bar using software to test a figure set independently.

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