Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:315.1.1 – Determination of income; evidence
Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:315.1.1
- Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
- Gross income: means :
(a) The income from any source, including but not limited to salaries, wages, commissions, bonuses, dividends, severance pay, pensions, interest, trust income, recurring monetary gifts, annuities, capital gains, social security benefits, workers' compensation benefits, basic and variable allowances for housing and subsistence from military pay and benefits, unemployment insurance benefits, disaster unemployment assistance received from the United States Department of Labor, disability insurance benefits, and spousal support received from a preexisting spousal support obligation;
(b) Expense reimbursement or in-kind payments received by a parent in the course of employment, self-employment, or operation of a business, if the reimbursements or payments are significant and reduce the parent's personal living expenses. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:315
- Income: means :
(a) Actual gross income of a party, if the party is employed to full capacity; or
(b) Potential income of a party, if the party is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:315
- person: includes a body of persons, whether incorporated or not. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 1:10
A. When a party alleges that income is being concealed or underreported, the court shall admit evidence relevant to establishing the actual income of the party, including but not limited to the following:
(1) Redirected income. (a) Loans to the obligor by a business in which the obligor has an ownership interest and whether the loans will be repaid. There shall be a presumption that such loans are income of the obligor which may be rebutted if the obligor demonstrates there is a history of similar past loans being made and repaid in a timely manner with market interest rates, or the current loan is at market interest rates and is fully paid in accordance with a commercially reasonable time. The amount by which a commercially reasonable repayment amount exceeds the amount actually repaid shall be treated as income.
(b) Payment made by the obligor or by a business in which the obligor has an ownership interest to a person related by blood or affinity in the form of wages or salary. There shall be a presumption that such payments are income of the obligor, which may be rebutted if the obligor demonstrates there is a history of payments preceding the separation of the parties or the filing of an action to establish or modify child support, or that the payments are fair market value for services actually performed.
(2) Deferred income. Recent reductions in distributions of income, such as salary, bonuses, dividends, or management fees as a percentage of gross income of the business of the obligor. There shall be a presumption that past distributions of income will continue, which may be rebutted if the obligor demonstrates business conditions justify a reduction in distributions.
(3) Standard of living and assets. The standard of living and assets of the obligor both prior and subsequent to the establishment of a child support order, to establish the actual income if the amount claimed is inconsistent with his lifestyle.
B. When the income of an obligor cannot be sufficiently established, evidence of wage and earnings surveys distributed by government agencies for the purpose of attributing income to the obligor is admissible.
Acts 2009, No. 378, §1.