The court will “impute” income if your spouse is voluntarily underemployed. Rest assured, you have nothing to fear.
Let’s suppose your spouse is trained as a physician and decides, for the time being, to work as a waiter at a local restaurant. The court can take an individual’s education, work history, job opportunities in the local market and earnings associated with those jobs into account in calculating appropriate child or spousal support. Assuming your spouse is reasonably assured of obtaining a position as a doctor with a six-figure salary, a doctor’s salary will be attributed to them.
One of the more common discussions we have with new clients involves a spouse’s claim (with laughter) that they will quit their job and our client will receive nothing. “I’ll quit my job” they say. Wrong strategy. Your spouse is free to work in whatever capacity they wish. At the end of the day, however, the amount of support they pay is based on what they actually earn or have the potential to earn, whichever is greater.