LUNDSTEN, J.
¶ 1. This is a child support modification case in which one parent alleges that the other is "shirking." "Shirking" is an unfortunate term because it connotes improper behavior, but, under the case law, it encompasses behavior that is well motivated. However, we use the term to avoid confusion that might arise if we employed some other term.
[446]*446¶ 2. Dr. John Warner, the father, asserts that Dr. Jane Chen, the mother, is shirking because she voluntarily and unreasonably declined to return to work after first quitting employment as a medical doctor and then watching her investment income dwindle. Instead of returning to work, Dr. Chen, who had more than a year earlier quit work to devote time to parenting, sought an order for child support from the circuit court. Dr. Warner asserts that the circuit court erred when it determined that Dr. Chen was not shirking and used her actual income to determine child support. We affirm the circuit court.
J. Background
¶ 3. Dr. Jane Chen and Dr. John Warner have three daughters, born on October 11, 1991, April 22, 1993, and July 12,1995. In 1999, after an eighteen-year marriage, the parties divorced.
¶ 4. The parties entered into a marital settlement agreement, which was later incorporated into the judgment of divorce. The parties agreed to joint custody, equal physical placement, and no child support. At the time of the divorce in 1999, both parents were employed as medical doctors in Marshfield. Dr. Chen was earning $19,670 per month, which means an annual income of $236,040. Dr. Warner was earning $21,371 per month, which translates into an annual income of $256,452.1
¶ 5. Prior to and after the divorce, both parties worked full time. After persistent and unsuccessful efforts to obtain a part-time schedule so that she could spend more time parenting, Dr. Chen voluntarily quit in [447]*447May of 2000. By quitting, Dr. Chen gave up her substantial current income, contributions to her retirement plan, and job security. The undisputed testimony was that she was performing at a high level and was the administrator of a profitable department. If Dr. Chen had remained in her job, she would have made $410,175 in 2002.
¶ 6. At the time Dr. Chen quit in 2000, she was advised, based on market returns over the past fifty years, that she could expect approximately 10% per year income on her investments with a conservative investment plan. Since Dr. Chen had about 1.1 million dollars in savings, she hoped to earn about $110,000 per year. She estimated her budget at $7,000 per month or $84,000 per year.
¶ 7. Unfortunately, the stock market declined dramatically in 2001 and Dr. Chen's investment income likewise dropped dramatically. That year, her total income was $32,000. Thus, Dr. Chen began to invade her principal in order to meet expenses. At the same time, Dr. Chen investigated the possibility of returning to work part-time. She was unable to locate work in the Marshfield area, and she declined to pursue part-time work in communities beyond commuting distance.
¶ 8. In January of 2002, Dr. Chen filed a motion requesting that the divorce judgment be amended to order Dr. Warner to pay child support. At that time, Dr. Warner was earning $472,000 per year and his employer contributed an additional $73,000 per year to Warner's retirement plan. During an evidentiary hearing, Dr. Chen detailed her activities with the children. Those activities are set forth in detail in the discussion section below. Dr. Chen testified that her monthly budget was about $7,000. She asked the circuit court to order child support in the amount of $4,000 per month.
[448]*448¶ 9. The circuit court determined that Dr. Warner could afford to pay child support and that Dr. Chen was not shirking. The court declined to use Dr. Chen's earning capacity and ordered Dr. Warner to pay $4,000 per month in child support.
II. Discussion
¶ 10. The only issue on appeal is whether the circuit court erred when it declined to use Dr. Chen's earning capacity and instead used her actual income when determining whether and in what amount to order child support. Dr. Warner alleges "shirking." He asserts that Dr. Chen voluntarily and unreasonably chose to forgo employment and seek child support payments.
A. Standard of Review and Legal Principles Applicable to Shirking
¶ 11. Courts use earning capacity, rather than actual earnings, to determine child support and maintenance payments when the party in question is shirking. See Abitz v. Abitz, 155 Wis. 2d 161, 166, 455 N.W.2d 609 (1990). Shirking is an employment decision to reduce or forgo income that is both voluntary and unreasonable under the circumstances. Finley v. Finley, 2002 WI App 144, ¶ 15, 256 Wis. 2d 508, 648 N.W.2d 536; Sellers v. Sellers, 201 Wis. 2d 578, 587, 549 N.W.2d 481 (Ct. App. 1996).2
[449]*449¶ 12. The voluntariness of a decision to reduce or forgo income is a question of fact, and we do not disturb a finding of fact unless it is clearly erroneous. See Smith v. Smith, 177 Wis. 2d 128, 133, 501 N.W.2d 850 (Ct. App. 1993) (treating whether a parent voluntarily terminated his employment as factual question). A party asserting that his or her reduction in income was involuntary has the burden of proof on that topic. Id. at 134.
¶ 13. Turning to the reasonableness prong, we accord "appropriate deference" to circuit court determinations of the reasonableness of decisions to reduce or forgo income. In Van Offeren v. Van Offeren, 173 Wis. 2d 482, 496 N.W.2d 660 (Ct. App. 1992), we explained:
The issue in this case is whether [the child support payor] unreasonably terminated his employment at Johnson Wax. The legal standard of reasonableness presents a question of law. Ordinarily, an appellate court need not defer to the trial court's determination [450]*450of a question of law; however, because the trial court's legal conclusion as to reasonableness is so intertwined with the factual findings supporting that conclusion, an appellate court should give weight to the trial court's reasonableness conclusion. We therefore review the trial court's ruling as a question of law, but one to which we must pay appropriate deference.
Id. at 492-93 (citations omitted); accord Sellers, 201 Wis. 2d at 587. We interpret this standard of review to mean that if the circuit court reached a conclusion that a reasonable court could reach based on the record before the court, we will defer to that conclusion. Deferring to circuit court determinations in family law cases is the norm, and we see no reason to deviate in this instance. Further, we are unable to discern any other meaning from Van Offeren. Cf. Finley, 256 Wis. 2d 508, ¶¶ 13-15 (treating shirking decision as a discretionary determination).
¶ 14. The burden of showing reasonableness is on the party who reduces or forgoes income. That party has the burden of justifying his or her decision. See, e.g., Kelly v. Hougham, 178 Wis. 2d 546, 556, 504 N.W.2d 440 (Ct. App. 1993) ("[A child support payor's] decision to leave a well-paying job to pursue his postgraduate education objectives contributed significantly to the parties' changed circumstances. He must justify his decision in light of his obligations to his children.").
¶ 15. Shirking cases typically speak in terms of shirking as an issue involving the payor. E.g., id. at 555; Smith, 177 Wis. 2d at 136; Van Offeren, 173 Wis. 2d at 492 ("Shirking is established where the obligor intentionally avoids the duty to support or where the obligor unreasonably diminishes or terminates his or her income in light of the support obligation."). However, [451]*451shirking analysis also applies to a payee. See Finley, 256 Wis. 2d 508, ¶¶ 12-13 (applying shirking analysis to a payee).3
¶ 16. In this case, the voluntariness of Dr. Chen's decision is not disputed. We address only the reasonableness of her decision.
B. The Reasonableness of Dr. Chen's Decision
¶ 17. Dr. Warner, the party ordered to pay child support, makes only one argument on appeal. He asserts that the circuit court erred when it declined to use Dr. Chen's earning capacity when determining whether and in what amount to order child support.
¶ 18. We begin by clarifying the "decision" at issue. Dr. Chen made decisions at two points in time. In 2000, she voluntarily quit her full-time job after failing to obtain an agreement from her employer allowing her to work reduced hours. At that time, Dr. Chen had the expectation that her savings of more than one million dollars would produce sufficient income to meet her child support obligations. In 2001, after steep declines in the markets and her investment income, Dr. Chen explored part-time work options. During this latter time period, Dr. Chen opted not to pursue work oppor[452]*452tunities that would take her away from the children every other week. When she failed to locate part-time work that would not significantly interfere with her parenting, Dr. Chen sought child support from Dr. Warner.
¶ 19. Dr. Warner argues that both decisions, individually and collectively, constitute shirking. Dr. Chen contends that both decisions were reasonable. We, however, conclude that the appropriate focus is on Dr. Chen's most recent decision to remain unemployed.
¶ 20. So far as this record reveals, if Dr. Chen's investment plan had worked, she would not have sought child support. Moreover, Dr. Warner himself argues that regardless the reasonableness of Dr. Chen's initial decision, it was unreasonable for Dr. Chen to seek child support rather than return to work when her investment income dropped. Dr. Chen does not argue that there is no work available. As discussed below, it is undisputed that Dr. Chen could likely find work if she were willing to work in a far-off community every other week. What Dr. Chen does assert is that it was reasonable for her not to pursue such opportunities because of the benefit conferred on the children by her ability to parent when the children were not actually under the care and supervision of Dr. Warner. Thus, the pertinent question is whether Dr. Chen's decision not to pursue available work that would take her away from the children every other week was reasonable.
¶ 21. The determination of reasonableness does not involve a "set list of factors." Wallen v. Wallen, 139 Wis. 2d 217, 225, 407 N.W.2d 293 (Ct. App. 1987). Rather, courts must look to the particular circumstances of each case. The parties here debate the following factors: (1) Dr. Chen's motives; (2) whether her decision was reasonable because it was foreseeable [453]*453at the time of the divorce; (3) whether Dr. Chen pursued opportunities; (4) Dr. Warner's ability to pay child support; and (5) the benefit to the children. We address each of these factors in the sections below and then explain why the circuit court's determination that Dr. Chen was not shirking is supported by the record.4 Before proceeding, we pause to respond to the dissent's sua sponte suggestion that this case be remanded so that the circuit court may consider whether Dr. Chen should be required to spend down some portion of her assets, rather than receive child support. We stress that it would have been reasonable for the circuit court to analyze Dr. Chen's financial situation with an eye toward assessing whether she should spend down assets before receiving child support. However, Dr. Warner has never made the argument, and we cannot fault the circuit court for failing to address it.
Dr. Chen's Motives
¶ 22. Dr. Warner does not argue that Dr. Chen acted in bad faith or with improper motives when she declined to pursue job opportunities after her investment plan failed. At the same time, Dr. Warner points [454]*454out that shirking may exist in the absence of bad faith or improper motives. We agree. Even when a reduction in income is voluntary, "no bad faith need be shown for an order to be based on that spouse's earning capacity, rather than his or her actual present earnings." Roberts v. Roberts, 173 Wis. 2d 406, 411, 496 N.W.2d 210 (Ct. App. 1992); see also Van Offeren, 173 Wis. 2d at 496.
¶ 23. We turn to Dr. Chen's argument that her good motivations should weigh in favor of a reasonableness finding. Dr. Chen details evidence showing that she sacrificed much to become a full-time parent and, therefore, she must have had the children's benefit in mind, not her own. This, she contends, supports the circuit court's non-shirking decision.
¶ 24. We conclude that Dr. Chen's motivation is important, but only to the extent that it is undisputed that she was not improperly motivated. As we explained in footnote 2, a finding that an income reduction decision is motivated by a desire to avoid child support is one of many possible unreasonable reasons to reduce income. At the same time, good motives, standing alone, do not necessarily weigh in favor of reasonableness. Even well-motivated persons make unreasonable decisions.
¶ 25. To be clear, we do not hold that good motives are never relevant. Good motives may be relevant when the existence of such motives makes it more likely that some other factor does or does not exist. For example, the undisputed facts here show that Dr. Chen was actually motivated by a desire to help her children by being a much more active parent. Because benefit to the children is an issue in this case, a court might find that Dr. Chen's motivation to help the children with school issues makes it more likely that she will continue to spend substantial time assisting the children in that [455]*455respect. However, in this case, there is no factual dispute on that topic. Dr. Warner has not suggested that any of Dr. Chen's testimony about her activities with the children is untrue or exaggerated. He does not. suggest that her activities are a subterfuge of any type.
¶ 26. Furthermore, we do not hold that good motives, by themselves, never directly support a finding of reasonableness. Rather, we simply fail to discern any reason why Dr. Chen's good motives are relevant to the determination of shirking in this case.
Expectation Prior to the Divorce
¶ 27. Dr. Chen argues that her decision is reasonable because the marital settlement agreement contemplated that child support would he ordered if there were a significant change in income. Dr. Chen also argues that Dr. Warner knew, prior to and during the pendency of the divorce, that Dr. Chen was interested in part-time status and that such a change might result in Dr. Warner paying child support. We agree with Dr. Warner that neither of these arguments has merit.
¶ 28. The language in the marital settlement agreement does not assist Dr. Chen. It provides: "The parties' waiver of child support is based upon the parties' present income and, if there is a substantial change in their relative incomes, it is recognized that the child support provisions may be modified within the discretion of the court." This language simply acknowledges that a substantial change in income might, at a party's request, prompt the court to revisit child support. It sheds no light on whether Dr. Chen's voluntary decision to reduce her income was reasonable.
¶ 29. We turn our attention to Dr. Chen's argument that her decision was reasonable because Dr. Warner knew before the divorce that Dr. Chen was [456]*456interested in part-time work so she could spend more time with the children. Dr. Chen points out that Dr. Warner knew this before he signed off on the marital settlement agreement.
¶ 30. There is indirect support for the proposition that, when a reduction in income is jointly contemplated during marriage, a later decision to reduce income in accordance with such understanding weighs in favor of a reasonableness finding. See Sellers, 201 Wis. 2d at 588 (a parent's decision to reduce income "represented] a diversion neither [parent] anticipated at the time of the marriage"). But that is not the situation here. There is no record of an agreement during the marriage that Dr. Chen would eventually reduce her hours to facilitate more parental involvement. We conclude that Dr. Warner's knowledge that Dr. Chen was interested in reducing her hours does not make Dr. Chen's decision to remain unemployed more reasonable.
Dr. Chen's Employment Opportunities
¶ 31. Dr. Warner asserts that Dr. Chen made "only minimal efforts to obtain part-time employment, when confronted with her declining investment income." Dr. Chen asserts that there were no jobs available that would permit her to continue parenting in the manner she believed was most beneficial to her children. This dispute requires clarification because the parties are, in effect, arguing past each other.
¶ 32. The underlying facts are not in dispute. Since quitting her full-time job, Dr. Chen has continually sought part-time employment in the Marshfield area. However, she declined to pursue part-time jobs that would have taken her completely away from the [457]*457children every other week. For example, Dr. Chen believed that she could have obtained work as a "temp" doctor every other week in communities such as La Crosse, Green Bay, Milwaukee, or Janesville. But, according to Dr. Chen's undisputed testimony, none of these jobs were within a reasonable commuting distance. Taking any of these jobs would have meant that Dr. Chen would be largely unavailable to her children every other week.5
¶ 33. Thus, the question is not whether Dr. Chen failed to vigorously pursue available work. The question is whether Dr. Chen's decision not to pursue available work that would take her away from the children every other week was reasonable.
Dr. Warner's Ability to Pay
¶ 34. We next address Dr. Warner's ability to pay child support. Dr. Warner does not argue that his ability to pay is irrelevant for purposes of determining reasonableness. For that matter, Dr. Warner does not argue that he cannot afford to pay child support. Rather, Dr. Warner argues that Dr. Chen should not be able to engage in the "luxury of reduced employment simply because [Dr. Warner] earns income sufficient to support the family." Dr. Warner states: "If Dr. Chen's decision [not to earn income] appears reasonable at all, it is only [458]*458because there was another high-income child support obligor waiting in the wings."
¶ 35. Dr. Warner does not argue that his ability to pay child support is an inappropriate consideration for purposes of shirking analysis. Obviously, if one working parent has no ability to pay additional child support, the other parent's voluntary decision to remain unemployed would not likely be reasonable. Conversely, if the other parent can easily afford child support, that factor may weigh in favor of the reasonableness of a parent's decision to remain unemployed. We conclude that ability to pay child support is an appropriate shirking factor, but the weight to be given this factor, if any, will necessarily vary from case to case.
¶ 36. Because Dr. Warner's income is so high, our consideration of this factor is much simplified. Dr. Warner's income and retirement benefit, approximately $545,000 per year, are sufficiently high that he is able to afford any reasonable level of child support without significant detriment to his lifestyle or his ability to provide for himself or his children now or in the future.
¶ 37. At lower income levels, complicated questions may arise as to how to analyze "ability to pay." A divorced parent who voluntarily reduces income does not know whether or in what amount the other parent will be ordered to pay child support. In cases where the incomes involved are neither clearly high enough nor clearly low enough to reach a predictive determination of ability to pay, does the reasonableness prong of shirking analysis intertwine with the amount eventually ordered? Dr. Chen effectively answers that question yes when she stresses that Dr. Warner can easily afford to pay $4,000 per month in child support. We do not address the topic.
[459]*459¶ 38. We are not persuaded by Dr. Warner's argument that Dr. Chen should not be able to engage in the "luxury of reduced employment simply because the other parent earns income sufficient to support the family." This argument ignores the work involved in the active parenting of three young school-age children. More importantly, Dr. Chen did not quit "simply" because of Dr. Warner's ability to pay. If she had, her decision would not even arguably qualify as reasonable.
¶ 39. We turn to Dr. Warner's "race to resign" argument. For purposes of this argument, Dr. Warner focuses attention on the fact that both he and Dr. Chen were high-income earners at the time Dr. Chen quit her job. Dr. Warner argues that a decision in favor of Dr. Chen would encourage "dual high-income [divorced parents] to engage in a race to retirement or resignation." In Dr. Warner's view, the first-in-time parent to resign wins the race and unilaterally forces the other parent to foot the bill.
¶ 40. Dr. Warner's prediction, however, seemingly assumes that the "winner" maintains substantially the same lifestyle without the burden of employment. However, even with respect to the temporary time period child support is awarded, Dr. Warner presents an unlikely scenario, because a parent who resigns cannot expect payments that amount to disguised maintenance.
¶ 41. Further, Dr. Warner's "race to resign" argument assumes there are substantial numbers of dual high-income divorced parents who want to, and are actually willing to, quit a career to become a full-time parent. Dr.-Warner does not support this speculation. As the facts recited in the background section of this opinion exemplify, a person who drops out of a career for several years to parent typically gives up substantial [460]*460financial security and prestige. He or she also faces an uncertain return to the workforce. Will a job be available in the same geographic location? Will the parent need to restart his or her career in an entry-level job? Will the decision to parent be viewed later as a lack of commitment by prospective employers? We also note that there is no indication Dr. Warner has any interest in quitting his job. That is, there is no reason to think that, if Dr. Warner had realized he could beat Dr. Chen to the punch by resigning first and seeking child support, he would have done so.
Benefit to the Children
¶ 42. Both parties contend that a proper "shirking" consideration in this case is the benefit the children derive from Dr. Chen's decision to remain unemployed. We agree this is an appropriate factor. See Kelly, 178 Wis. 2d at 558. The parties do, however, dispute whether the benefit to the children is significant enough to make Dr. Chen's decision reasonable. In this section, we set forth the evidence bearing on the benefit to the children.
¶ 43. The record reveals that, prior to the time Dr. Chen quit, Dr. Chen's and Dr. Warner's involvement with the children was fairly typical of dual full-time working parents with high incomes. Both parents attended school and pre-school functions when they could, but not regularly. They hired a nanny to assist with the children. For the most part, one or both parents were available at dinnertime, after dinner, and on weekends. Dr. Warner, who still works full-time, attends parent-teacher conferences, attends some of the children's school activities, and spends as much as three hours a night assisting with homework during the [461]*461weeks the children are with him. Dr. Warner schedules substantial vacation time with the children.
¶ 44. The physical placement is equal: the children spend every other week with each parent. Dr. Chen's involvement with the children has increased substantially since she quit her job, both during the weeks she has placement and the weeks she does not. Dr. Chen provides volunteer services in each of the children's classrooms and acts as a driver or chaperone for nearly all of their class field trips. Dr. Chen's involvement in these activities has allowed her to develop a close working relationship with each of the children's teachers. This, in turn, gives her the opportunity to deal quickly with areas of concern that might arise. For example, Dr. Chen testified that one daughter is "extremely sensitive and she will burst into tears in school." Dr. Chen explained that she was able to explain to the teachers "what causes it and what to do when it happens and that it's - it's something that has decreased over time." As another example, Dr. Chen testified that she was able to work with teachers on another daughter's "organizational problems."
¶ 45. Dr. Chen has also become very active in the children's non-school activities. These activities include dance, tae kwon do, piano, swimming, and knitting. Dr. Chen takes the children to all of these activities each week and usually stays to see how they are doing and to monitor their participation. Dr. Chen helps the children with piano by helping them with music theory and helping them prepare and practice for recitals and competitions.
¶ 46. Dr. Chen gave an example of an opportunity she thinks would not have been pursued if both she and Dr. Warner still worked full time. One of their daughters was interested in an advanced art program. Dr. [462]*462Chen met with the daughter's art teacher, decided which pieces of art to submit, had the art matted and framed, and took the daughter to the three-hour screening test.
¶ 47. Dr. Chen testified that her involvement enables her to get to know her daughters' friends and the families of those friends. Dr. Chen testified that she makes arrangements for her daughters to play with friends and she also steers the children away from possible trouble. Dr. Chen gave as an example one daughter who wanted to sleep over at a friend's house. Dr. Chen was familiar with the family and knew that the parents did not supervise their children, that the parents were heavy smokers, and that the home was "extremely dirty." Dr. Chen concluded that the sleepover was not a "safe arrangement." She spoke with her daughter about it and the daughter agreed it would not be a good idea to spend time at that girl's house.
¶ 48. Dr. Chen testified that she had recently spent time looking for a child-friendly church and found one that fit their needs. The girls now attend church services and Sunday school and have recently gone to a "vacation Bible school."
¶ 49. Dr. Warner did not argue below, and does not argue before this court, that Dr. Chen's testimony is inaccurate or that the examples she gives do not constitute benefits to the children. Rather, Dr. Warner argues that the benefits are limited. Dr. Warner relies on his own uncontested testimony that the children were thriving before Dr. Chen quit working. He accurately points out that there is no evidence in the record that any change occurred requiring Dr. Chen to quit work to care for the children. Dr. Warner testified: "I think that the care provided during the day by their long-term nanny combined with our care in the evening [463]*463when we returned from work was doing a very good job of raising them." Dr. Warner also notes that the children were all school age with no special needs at the time Dr. Chen declined to return to work and instead sought child support.
Application of Factors
¶ 50. In the subsections above, we conclude that neither Dr. Chen's good motives nor Dr. Warner's knowledge that Dr. Chen was considering reducing her hours weighs in favor of finding Dr. Chen's decision to forgo all employment reasonable. We also explain that Dr. Chen, as of the time of the hearing, did not have employment opportunities that would permit her to supervise and assist the children during the weeks they have placement with Dr. Warner. Indeed, the question here is whether it is reasonable for Dr. Chen to forgo part-time work so that she can parent during the weeks she does not have placement. Accordingly, we focus on Dr. Warner's ability to pay and the benefits the children derive from having Dr. Chen available every week.
¶ 51. Dr. Warner's main argument regarding the benefits to the children is that the children were doing well before Dr. Chen quit and they are doing well now. He also states that the benefit of having a full-time parent is substantially less when children are, as here, school age. These arguments have merit but, at the same time, the benefits described by Dr. Chen, though difficult to measure, are significant. It is hard to argue with the proposition that children benefit when parents know who their friends are and actively steer the children away from bad influences. Similarly, even high-performing children may encounter difficulties in school or miss opportunities for enrichment. Thus, a reasonable judge could find that Dr. Chen's efforts [464]*464benefit the children and that benefit is enhanced by Dr. Chen's ability to supervise and assist every week, not just every other week.
¶ 52. Dr. Warner argues that Dr. Chen, in effect, asks this court to make a general value judgment and adopt a blanket rule elevating stay-at-home parenting over income-earning, regardless of the placement schedule and the other particular facts of the case. We do nothing of the sort. We readily acknowledge that it is difficult to assess the comparative benefits of Dr. Chen working every other week and not working at all. Further, this is not a case in which either party offered expert testimony or statistical evidence of the short- or long-term benefits to school-age children from having an active, involved full-time parent such as Dr. Chen. We hold only that, in this case, a reasonable trial judge could determine that Dr. Chen's decision to forgo part-time work — work that would take her away from the children every other week — was reasonable in light of Dr. Warner's ability to pay child support and the benefits to the children.6
[465]*465By the Court. — Order affirmed.