Determining Earning Capacity During a Divorce

The Vocational Expert has a role in Divorce proceedings that can save time and money for each side. While determining Spousal Maintenance, a Vocational Expert can be hired to conduct a Vocational Evaluation on either or both parties. This Vocational Evaluation is aimed at finding an earning capacity for the individual based on their education, work history and past earnings.


There are two basic methods the Vocational Expert uses to determine the Earning Capacity. The first method is to look at Actual Earnings. Second would be to determine the Potential Earning Capacity.




1. Actual Earnings


The Actual Earnings of a person allows the Vocational Expert the most amount of Face Validity possible in his or her report. The Earnings of a person are easily found in their tax records and from their previous employers, and are obvious evidence of Earning Capacity.


The argument that can be made against the Actual Earnings of an individual can be that the job is no longer available, or that the person would not be able to return to the same type of work and make a similar wage. The Vocational Expert must weigh this knowledge as they craft their report. For example, a plumber with an acquired back injury and lifting restrictions below 10 pounds, would not be able to return to work as a plumber.


Disability is one item that can limit the ability to use Actual Earnings to determine earning capacity, others include Age, and Geographical Locale.


2. Potential Earning Capacity


The Potential Earning Capacity of an individual is based on what the fair market value for their skills and abilities would provide. Essentially, even though a person may have never earned a dollar in their life, they may have the potential to earn.


To determine Potential Earning Capacity, the Vocational Expert weighs different information regarding the person's past. Education, Work History, Volunteer Work, and Hobbies can play a role in determining vocational possibilities.


Vocational Testing can be completed during a Vocational Evaluation that may help determine the skill and ability level of a person, or an interview and file review can be conducted. Often these methods are used together to produce a complete picture of a person and their Vocational Abilities. The report produced by the Vocational Expert needs to address how the individual's background would affect their Potential Earning Capacity.






For more information on determing Earning Capacity or to set-up a Vocational Evaluation, contact the experts at WRTWC.

Finding Jobs for People with Disabilities - Vocational Rehabilitation

There is a little known state agency called the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) available to help people with disabilities find employment. This program allows people with any type of disability to apply for services, and then they will be matched with a counselor who has a wide variety of resources available to help them find work. Although these agencies are often backlogged with people seeking services, there are still many people with disabling conditions that are not aware of its existence and the extent that it can potentially help. Below is a brief description of what DVR can do to help people return to work following injury, or go to work for the first time.


Different services that DVR can offer include; Job Placement,  Vocational Evaluation, Vocational Training, and Workplace Accommodation.


Job Placement services allow for the participant to work directly with a Job Placement professional who often has contacts with area businesses. Before reaching that point, however, the participant is trained in methods of producing successful resumes and presenting themselves well in job applications. The participant can also be trained to succeed in job interviews, and with written correspondence following interviews.


We at WRTWC conduct Job Placement for our clients, and are also contractors for DVR in Minnesota for this service.


Vocational Evaluation allows for clients to be sent to a contractor that specializes in Vocational Assessments, and provides a report detailing the clients skills and abilities as they relate to the world of work. The testing usually completed at an evaluation includes, Interest, Aptitude, Academic, Basic Skills, and Simulated-Work Samples. The goal of this testing is determine a vocational goal for the participant that is based on their ability and skill level, as well as their areas of interest.


Once again WRTWC offers Vocational Evaluation services in both Wisconsin and Minnesota for DVR as well as any other service provider. Our experts provide different levels of testing based on the requirements of the service provider, as well as personalized reports that aims to provide answers to any referral questions that may be asked.


Vocational Training is something that DVR can offer to participants that require more than the basic services to help them find a job. The DVR counselors will work with the participant to determine what type of training program would be most beneficial given their proximity to schools and the job market. The end goal of Vocational Training is to return to work in a physically and mentally appropriate situation, so the counselor must be knowledgeable about the job market.


Workplace Accommodation refers to the ability for DVR counselors to help ease the transition for someone to work through adaptations in their work setting. Accommodations can be as simple as a new chair for someone with a bad back, or raised computer screen. Often though, these types of Accommodations can be fairly technological and it has actually created its own niche industry. Some examples of what can be done is from the University of Wisconsin-Stout website: http://www.uwstout.edu/svri/tech.cfm They also conduct evaluations of their own to help determine what type of Accommodations would be most effective.


If you have any questions regarding anything listed here, contact your State Division of Vocational Rehabilitation office, or comment down below.

Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors as Neutral Vocational Experts

Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors typically hold at least Master's degrees which enables them to work as counselors and evaluators with state and federal agencies, or in private practice. The experience of working as a Counselor, placing people in jobs and gaining familiarity with the vocational landscape, enables them to serve in court proceedings as a Vocational Expert.

Vocational Experts are able to testify in court cases that determine Earning Capacity such as in a divorce-maintenance dispute, changes in Earning Capacity in cases regarding injury, and presumed Earning Capacity in cases involving injury to children.

The Vocational Experts have a variety of tools at their disposal including vocational testing, work and educational histories, labor market information and their own experience with the job market. Above all else, the Vocational Expert is held by ethical standards to provide testimony as evidence that is neutral to both parties, despite being hired by only one of them.

The goal of the Experts at WRTWC is to provide testimony regardless of the source of our payment. By operating in this fashion, our experts have gained the trust of judges and have even been hired by both sides of divorce cases to produce Earning Capacity reports.


By striving to stay neutral and testify based on the facts of a case, our experts have been able to provide useful testimony that helps move cases toward a conclusion. Our testimony has proven to be helpful in divorce cases as it can save money for each party.  With neutral, fact-based testimony, our findings can be quickly accepted by both sides, without further argument.


If there is any questions you have regarding a case that may be require a vocational expert, please contact me at jesse.ogren@wrtwc.com, or at 612-353-5154.