Arlene Hirsch provides vocational assessments and expert witness testimony in divorce cases.
The core of Arlene’s expertise is to discover what someone’s skills and wage capacity are. Her work can play an important part in divorce cases as well as other cases where earning power is an issue (such as disability, personal injury and worker’s compensation).
What is a Vocational Expert?
As a vocational expert, Arlene can assess an individual’s capacity to work, wage earning capacity, prior work skills, transferable skills to other jobs, vocational potential, goals, and how their abilities and disabilities impact their direction to work. To reach an assessment, Arlene will build upon evidence in the file, client interviewing with testing, forensic and vocational knowledge, skills and experience.
Effect on Divorce Rulings/Settlements
The decision maker is the judge who is presiding over the specific type of case or the attorneys will come to a settlement decision, but they are likely to consider the findings of the vocational forensic expert.
Using the assessment of your spouse’s earning capacity, the judge can “impute” income. In other words, the court can assume future potential income to your spouse when calculating child or spousal support.
Arlene Hirsch is a highly-qualified forensic vocational expert. She has been called upon to provide efficient, cost effective research, consulting, and expert testimony as it relates to your divorce. Her findings on wage and benefits loss analysis, earning capacity and employability can have a significant impact on spousal support awards and negotiations.
Why Use Vocational Assessments
In most cases, the purpose of vocational assessments is to assess current and/or future employment capabilities and wage earnings range. The vocational expert will assist in determining a person’s employability and return-to-work options and identifying earning capacity. If your divorce involves vocational issues, contact Arlene Hirsch to schedule a consultation.
How It Works
Typically, the contact is initiated by an attorney who requires a vocational evaluation of a non-working or underemployed spouse. If we agree to work together, Arlene sends the attorney a Retainer Agreement along with an invoice of $4000 as a retainer fee.
After receipt of the signed agreement and fee, Arlene will send a Vocational Questionnaire either to the attorney or directly to the person who is being evaluated, along with a request for their resume, tax documents, job diaries, etc.
After that, she will schedule a telephone or Zoom interview to obtain more information. If the person will not agree to be interviewed, then Arlene will work with the attorney to determine the most effective way to obtain the information she needs to complete her evaluation.
Expert Witness Testimony – Vocational Forensics
Arlene Hirsch is available for Expert Witness Testimony at deposition or trial. Additional fees are required for Expert Witness Testimony.
