Getting the most child support

My husband I are talking separation so I am starting to plan for it. I was thinking about getting a part-time job but a friend advised me that I may be better off waiting until after I have a signed separation agreement. She said that I would maximise my child support and alimony awarded if I could show that I had no income - Is this true?

Is there any potential downside to this strategy?

If it can later be shown that you suppressed your income in bad faith (i.e. refusing to work when you are otherwise able to), your income can be imputed and you would receive support according to the income that you are found to be capable of making.

I agree with luvmygirls, if you are able to work, they could impute what you could make based on minimum wage.

The downside is that income could potentially be imputed to for purposes of support calculation, but only if you are found to be depressing your income in a bad faith attempt to gain more support. If the history of your marriage is that you did not work, I would advise you hold off on getting a job for now.

A stay-at-home-mom is in a strong position to get alimony and child support. It would not be a bad idea to start job training or classes now, though. You will need the best-paying job you can get. If you’re having a provable affair, forget the alimony. Judges are not likely to impute income if there is no history of working and you are taking care of kids.