In Pennsylvania, parents are legally obligated to support their children. Failing to financially support your child may result in your wages being garnished and even in your arrest.

But what if you don’t have a job? If you earn no money, you can’t be required to pay child support, right? Wrong!

Courts may impute an income equal to your earning capacity if you are found to have “willfully failed to obtain or maintain appropriate employment.”

Factors for determining a parent’s earning capacity include: age, education, training, health, work experience, earnings history, and child care responsibilities.

To learn more about earning capacity and other child support issues in Pennsylvania, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.