Many fathers and soon-to-be fathers have jobs that, less face it, they do because it brings in a paycheck. Many men in Omaha and the other communities of Eastern Nebraska probably would like at some point to change professions and do something they truly find fulfilling, even if it means taking a significant pay cut.
This is certainly not a bad thing per se, and fathers have a right to do this. However, a dad who is in the midst of establishing paternity or going through a divorce or separation may want to think long and hard about his timing if he wants to make a shift to his dream job.
The reason is that, if the man his children, he is going to have to pay child support. If he is going through a divorce or separation, he also may be ordered to pay alimony and a lot of other bills, in addition to giving up around half of his net worth to his spouse. In short, it may not be the right time financially to also voluntarily reduce one’s salary.
Moreover, even if the job change was done innocently enough, a judge ordering child support has the option of considering the man’s earning capacity instead of what the man actually is making at his new profession. In practice, this means a father who elected to take that lower paying dream job could end up trying to manage a child support order, and maybe and alimony order, that is set according to his older, higher salary.
It is not wrong for a man to consider a job change, but he will want to be careful about his timing and how he goes about it. An experienced Omaha fathers’ rights and family attorney can be helpful in advising the man about this and other matters.