Buy Reason 8

Goofy reason #1: Waiting to line up financing. Your first step in the home-buying process should be to call a Realtor and set up a meeting with a mortgage lender to discuss your financing options. No one can truly know how much home they can afford until they get preapproved for the loan.

buy reason 8

Goofy reason #6 Writing a bad personal letter to the seller. Some agents feel you can write a concise personal letter explaining why you love the house. But if you overshare, get emotional and say that wrong thing it can cost you the deal. In most cases, you are better off letting your Realtor broker the deal.

There may be a reason for changing the assessment if, in the special circumstances of the case, the assessment of child support results in an unjust and inequitable level of financial support to be provided by the payer for the child because of either parent's:

A child support assessment is generally calculated using the parents' most recent taxable income. Where, in the special circumstances of the case, a parent's current income is not adequately reflected in the child support assessment (whether it is more or less than the income used), an application may be considered under this reason.

A parent is able to make an estimate of income to be used in their child support assessment if their estimated income is 85% or less than their adjusted taxable income for the last relevant year of income. A parent's ability to make an estimate of income will therefore be considered before the Registrar will consider a change to the assessment under this reason. If an estimate of income is unable to be accepted because the estimate is not 85% or less than the parent's adjusted taxable income, the Registrar will generally not be satisfied that the reduction in income alone constitutes a special circumstance.

This means it will not usually be necessary to apply under this reason to have these factors considered. That is, they may already be taken into account in the parent's adjusted taxable income used in the child support formula.

Where a parent receives income and they have paid no, or negligible, tax on that income, the Registrar may calculate the equivalent gross value of that income. This grossed-up income will be taken into account in deciding whether there is a reason to change the assessment.

When making a decision under this reason, the Registrar will consider whether a parent has capacity to earn or derive additional income including a consideration of assets that do not produce, but are capable of producing, income. However, the Registrar must disregard the income, earning capacity, property and financial resources of any person who does not have a duty to maintain the child (CSA Act section 117(7A)).

If the Registrar concludes that, as a result of the deductions, the parent has additional income or financial resources that are not taken into account in the child support assessment, a reason to change the assessment may be established.

A parent who operates a business may legitimately pay wages or salaries to employees. However, if the employee is a related person, such as the parent's new spouse, de facto partner or a family member and the payments exceed the reasonable value of the work performed, the Registrar may treat the income of that employee as the income of the parent.

Before depreciation expenses can be taken into account as income or a financial resource personally available to the parent, the underlying nature of the depreciation expense must be determined. If the amount claimed as depreciation is used or set aside for replacing equipment (e.g. a capital replacement fund) or is actually accounted for as part of ongoing business activities (e.g. to repay a loan on a depreciating asset or to otherwise reduce business debt), then this is unlikely to provide the parent with additional financial resources. Similarly, if the business operates at a loss even after accounting for depreciation expenses, these expenses will not be available to the parent as a personal financial resource. On the other hand, if the parent spends the benefit of depreciation on day-to-day living expenses or recreational expenses this will most likely be a reason for changing the assessment.

However, it is possible that parents may have made arrangements with creditors to repay an outstanding debt caused by the earlier loss. Any repayments will be taken into account in deciding whether there is a reason to change the assessment.

If the debts or losses have been dealt with in a family law property settlement, the Registrar will consider the terms of the settlement in deciding whether there is a reason to change the assessment.

Proof of this kind of expenditure alone will not establish a reason to change a child support assessment. However, if the parent has developed a capital structure of primary production that results in the parent being asset rich/income poor, they may have additional financial resources and a greater capacity to contribute to the financial support of the child.

In some cases a parent may consider applying to change the child support assessment on the basis that their income, earning capacity, property and financial resources are not properly reflected in the child support assessment because such fringe benefits have been included. The fact that reportable fringe benefits have been included in the adjusted taxable income will not, in itself, be a reason to change the assessment. In order to show a reason to change an assessment a parent must show that other circumstances affect their capacity to provide financial support for the child or that the nature of the fringe benefit received does not provide them with an actual, additional financial resource.

The Registrar will not gross up the value of a benefit of this type. The Registrar will consider whether the parent could restructure their remuneration package to take the benefit as wages and be in a position to use those monies to meet the child's needs. The final decision will depend on the circumstances of the case and any other reasons under consideration.

The Registrar will take into consideration government policy regarding the exemptions from reportable fringe benefits. The Registrar will not change an assessment solely because one parent is in receipt of ADF allowances or benefits which are not reportable fringe benefits. However, in cases where other reasons or circumstances exist, the Registrar may take into consideration the receipt of ADF benefits and allowances when deciding whether it is fair or just and equitable and otherwise proper to make a particular change to the child support assessment.

A relevant factor (but not the sole factor) is whether or not the payment results in one parent being in a better financial position compared to the other parent. However, the fact that there is a discrepancy in the parents' financial positions does not automatically mean that there is a reason to change the assessment (Hampson and Lightfoot (1997) FLC 92-775). It will depend on the circumstances of each case.

Payments received under the National Disability Insurance Scheme as part of a parent's or their child's support package are not included as income for child support purposes. They will also not be taken into account as a financial resource of the parent when establishing special circumstances under this reason. Payments made under this scheme are required to be spent for a specific purpose and do not increase the financial resources available to the parent.

Payments received under the National Redress Scheme or the Territories Stolen Generations Redress Scheme are also not included as income for child support purposes. Although these payments are not required to be spent for a specific purpose, they are intended for the personal use of the recipient, and will not be taken into account as income or a financial resource of the parent when establishing special circumstances under this reason. However, consideration of a payment received by a parent under either scheme as part of their overall circumstances may be relevant to a decision about the parent's earning capacity (specifically the third criterion, see 'Purpose of the parent's decision about working arrangements' below).

A self-employed parent funding their own superannuation contributions is, of itself, unlikely to lead to a child support assessment being unfair. However, when considering a parent's overall financial situation, it is reasonable to take into account the amount the parent would have been entitled to receive under the superannuation guarantee if they were an employee.

Where a lump sum is received because of compensation for a personal injury there may be a reason to change the assessment because the payment compensates the parent for past loss of wages or a reduction of future earning capacity (Harris and Harris (1991) FLC 92-254).

Any government pension, allowance or benefit received by the payee or payer that would normally be included as part of the parent's adjusted taxable income in an ordinary formula assessment will be taken into account when considering the parent's income and financial resources under this reason. This includes any pension or benefit that is classified as taxable income, as well as certain tax-free pensions and benefits (2.4.4.10).

A person can be said to be not working despite 'ample opportunity' to work if they have had offers of employment and refused them without adequate reason. Alternatively, if the person is not seeking work but there are job vacancies for which they are suitably qualified in their local area, this could also constitute ample opportunity to work.

This is an objective test. The Registrar must consider whether an ordinary, reasonable person would consider the parent's decision to be justified, rather than whether the parent who made the decision considers that their decision was justified. It is also important to note that if the parent's caring responsibilities or state of health do not adequately justify the parent's decision about their work arrangements, then the Registrar must then consider the third criterion below, relating to the parent's purpose in making that decision. 041b061a72