Every parent wants their children to have nice things: a safe and comfortable home, healthy food, clean, warm clothing, and some creature comforts like toys and books. Child support is designed to pay for those expenses. But what happens when a parent has no income? Here's how Michigan addresses child support in cases with unemployed parents.

Why Would Unemployed Parents Have to Pay Child Support?

Both parents have a legal obligation to provide for the financial support of a child until that child becomes an adult. This is true regardless of whether a parent is making minimum wage or a million dollars a year. Often, after a divorce, one parent has significantly more financial resources than the other. Maybe one person was a stay-at-home parent, or has lost their job. Perhaps a disability prevents him or her from working. Being unemployed can adjust a parent's share of financial contributions, but it likely will not eliminate the duty to provide support all together.

The Michigan Child Support Formula (MCSF) calculates each parent's share of financial contributions to the child's care and support based on the total combined income of both parents and the amount of that income attributed to each parent. The number is then adjusted based on the overnights the children spend with each parent. Additional child support may be awarded to offset childcare and health insurance costs. Unemployed parents may assume their financial contribution in this calculation would be set to $0, since they do not have traditional income. The reality is more complicated.

Income Doesn't Just Mean Wages or Salary

Just because a parent doesn't have traditional employment doesn't mean they don't have income for child support purposes. The MCSF defines income very broadly, and includes everything from 1099 gig-based income (like driving for Uber or Lyft) and tips to rental income from properties and even retirement payments and trust distributions. It may be harder to demonstrate a person's income if he or she works for cash or tips or depends on non-traditional income sources, but the Court can still set a value for those parents' financial contributions, even if the payments aren't coming from a regular paycheck.

How Michigan Courts Calculate Potential Income

Even people without any income stream are required to meet their obligations to provide for their children. If a person has historically been a stay-at-home parent, or is unemployed or underemployed, the Michigan courts can assign “potential income” to that person for child support purposes. This is the income the judge reasonably believes the person could earn, if he or she tried to get a job.

It used to be assumed that any unemployed person could at least get a part-time, minimum wage job. However, the MCSF does not operate based on that assumption. Instead, the formula lists a variety of factors that judges must consider in determining whether to impute income, and how much:

• Prior work history and earnings history
• Reason for termination or change in employment
• Education level
• Any special skills, training, or certifications
• Physical or mental disabilities of a parent (that affect their ability to work)
• Availability for work (excluding incarceration, hospitalization, or debilitating illness)
• Work opportunities in the geographical region (what jobs are available)
• Wage and hour availability in the geographic region (how much local jobs pay)
• Efforts to obtain employment
• Evidence that a parent has the ability to earn the imputed income
• Marital status
• Age and health status
• Residence
• Criminal record
• Ability to drive or access to transportation
• Whether children in the home affect a parent's ability to work
• Significant reduction in income as a litigation tactic

You should be careful about arguing for potential income calculations for “under-employed” parents, however. The MCSF does not allow judges to impute additional income if a parent is working at least 35 hours per week, even if he or she refuses overtime, quits a second job, or changes shifts in ways that reduce his or her total income. Under-employment should only be used in cases where a parent is minimally employed or working significantly below their earning potential.

Low Income Threshold in the Michigan Child Support Formula

Michigan courts are not insensitive to the fact that being poor is expensive, and that low-income parents may struggle to pay support. The MCSF includes a “Low Income Threshold” for parents without sufficient means to contribute to their children's care. If a parent earns less than that threshold ($1,255.00 per month as of the 2025 formula), his or her income will not be included in calculating the monthly net family income or the other parent's child support obligation. The assumption is that all that parent's minimal income will be needed to meet his or her own needs.  

Also, certain means-tested benefits are not considered income for child support purposes. If you or your coparent receive food stamps, Temporary Assistance to Needy Family (TANF) benefits, the federal Earned Income Credit, or Supplemental Security Income (SSI), those benefits will not adjust the Michigan Child Support Formula. Nor will an unemployed parent be required to use those funds to pay child support obligations.

Dependency Benefits Can Offset Child Support Obligations for Unemployed Parents

One way some unemployed parents provide child support is through dependency benefits. If a parent receives a military pension, VA benefits, or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits, he or she may be able to receive additional benefits for the children. (SSI also has a dependency benefit that can be paid to support children, but this is not considered income for child support purposes.) If unemployed parents are struggling to find ways to meet their support obligations, one strategy can be to apply for these benefits. An SSDI application has the added benefit that, if granted, it can establish that a parent is legally disabled and not able to work, which can be used to demonstrate that potential income is not appropriate. However, if you believe that a former spouse or co-parent is misusing disability benefits, you and your attorney can present other evidence (such as bank statements, social media posts, or LinkedIn profiles) to demonstrate that a person receiving disability pay is nonetheless earning income or has the ability to work.

What to Do When Parents Get Laid Off

Unpaid child support arrears can add up quickly. If you have multiple children or have previously maintained a strong income, even a short period of unemployment can quickly result in a significant balance. When that amount passes a certain threshold, it can trigger enforcement actions by the Friend of the Court, and can even result in criminal charges and jail time.

In most cases, Michigan law does not allow for retroactive modification of child support. Each month's child support obligation becomes due at the time it is issued and can't be undone later on. That is why it is important that you notify the Friend of the Court as soon as you can after a loss of employment. Even if you anticipate a severance or receiving unemployment insurance, requesting a child support modification based on your layoff can preserve the date for any future modifications and keep you from needing to deplete your savings or go into debt to pay a child support amount that no longer makes sense.

Get Help with Child Support from a Michigan Family Lawyer

At Bebout, Potere, Cox & Bennion, P.C., we care about you and your family. We help individuals and families in Rochester Hills, Rochester, Troy, Lake Orion, Oxford, Oakland County, Macomb County and throughout Southeast Michigan. We can help you understand how child support will be calculated if you or your co-parent are unemployed parents, so your children have the financial help they need. Call us at 248-651-4114 or contact us here to speak to an attorney.