Marriage of Prokop CA4/1

DISCUSSION

I. Imputed Income

A. Trial Court's Findings

The trial court found Stanley's employment history, skills, education and

certifications to be "remarkable." Stanley earned about $100,000 a year working at

SAIC. After leaving his job in early 2005, the court found that Stanley "devoted his

working time" to flying and airplane mechanics. It concluded that Stanley would be

"clearly under-employed" working as an airplane mechanic with an annual earning

capacity of $41,600. The court acknowledged Stanley required shoulder surgery and

would be unable to perform the responsibilities of an airline mechanic, but found that he

had ample time to secure a higher earning computer security job before scheduling the

pending surgery.

The court accepted the testimony of Dr. Samuel Bresler, Maria's human resources

expert, that potential jobs existed for Stanley as a computer security engineer, but

rejected Dr. Bresler's conclusion that Stanley qualified for an annual compensation

package of more than $109,000. Instead, the court agreed with Nimietz's testimony that

Stanley's earning potential in the computer security field was between $80,000…