Culbert v. Culbert is a decision about imputed income for child support and spousal support purposes written by Justice Thorburn.
In this case, the father resigned from his managerial job earning one hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars in order to become a woodworker earning thirty-three thousand dollars. Income was imputed to him at seventy-five thousand dollars, based on what he could earn working in his field, but not at a managerial level. In rendering its decision the court examined the fathers pre-existing medical conditions including depression, anxiety attacks, and type-two diabetes.
Justice Thornburn found that father had met the burden of showing that the underemployment was due to his health. The father’s conditions together with the stress of his job and a confrontation with his supervisor rendered him unable to hold that particular job.