Obviously, the guidelines take into account the gross income each party earns from their respective employment. However, the guidelines define "gross income" as any monies earned or unearned over an extended period of time. Keep in mind, any unearned income needs to be recurring in order to be added to the guidelines. This is one area where the Court has wide discretion to determine what income may be considered "recurring" and what constitutes an "extended period of time". There is no hard and fast rule in the state of New Jersey.
The following is a small list of items the court will consider to be income when calculating your child support in New Jersey: wages, bonuses, income from the operation of a business, retirement account distributions, tips, alimony, civil lawsuit awards, IRAs, unemployment benefits, gambling or lottery winnings, worker's compensation benefits, or interest in decedent's estate. Although this is not a complete list it is certainly a good place to start.
