How Husband income can be assessed by guess work and why it is a disaster for husbands?

In matrimonial proceeding, one of the most important stages for any person facing matrimonial cases is maintenance. Especially the interim maintenance. Normally Rajnish Vs. Neha is followed in assessment of income and the parties must submit an affidavit of income and expenditure for 3 years. That means all the salary slips, bank accounts, loan and property related documents need to be disclosed. The husbands are generally advised to hide their income so that to reduce the maintenance liability.

So, what they do is following tactics. They leave their jobs; they come to a low paying job. Leave job and start business, show losses in business. Take home less salary in a family-owned business, sell or transfer property, Hide investment details FD’s and lifestyle expenses.

All these are an attempt to hide actual income which can be easily detected by the documents produced by wife in form of bank statements, lifestyle before filing cases, stakes involvement of husband in family business and property sale purchase documents.

When court feels that the husband is not disclosing his true income then the court has no option but to rely on notional income or we called a guess work income. In the year 2019 I got a case from the client which we had to challenge before the high court. The trial court fixed a maintenance of Rs 100000/- with income of Rs 10000/- per month as shown by the husband why because wife brought many investment related documents of the husband which falsify the stand of the husband miserably that he is earning Rs 10000/- per month.

Another case was a business family case in which husband shows that he has no income from the business rather suffering losses amounting to Rs 10 Lakh a month in form of salaries to employees. Court noted notional income as Rs 10 Lakh and fixed maintenance at that amount. Because if husband can bear losses Intune of such an amount then he can certainly pay maintenance.

There was another case wherein the husband deliberately chooses a lower income job from earning Rs 1 lakh to Rs 20000 per month. There was no explanation to the fact as to why the husband was earning such an abysmal amount and why there is sudden drop in his income. The court guessed his income as same as 1 lakh a month.

The notional income or guess work income is the worst method if someone hides his or her income in determining quantum of maintenance. The notional income maintenance is always higher than the fixed maintenance.

So never hide your true income from the court it will always backfires. If you hide your assets or lie on income affidavit.