I am often asked if Social Security Disability Benefits can be garnished to pay child support payments. The answer of this question depends on what type of Social Security Disability benefits you are receiving.
If you are receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI), the federal government does not allow these benefits to be garnished. SSI is given to lower-income individuals – those individuals such as the aged, blind, and disabled who meet certain low income and resource levels and do not qualify for Social Security Disability (SSDI). The federal government funds SSI through general tax revenues so that the qualifying individuals can pay for expenses such as clothing, housing, and food. Because the federal government treats SSI as a public welfare benefit and not as income for the purposes of child support payments, they do not allow Supplemental Security Income benefits to be garnished.
On the other hand, Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) can be garnished to pay child support payments. SSDI benefits are funded from the money you as a worker paid into the Social Security system (through employment taxes) when you were still working. The amount of SSDI benefits you get is based on how much you earned/how much you contributed into the Social Security system (via taxes). When employees become disabled and are unable to work, these SSDI payments act as a replacement of income. According to the federal government, because SSDI is considered a substitute for lost wages, it can be garnished for child support payments.
A benefit of SSDI is that children of the disabled workers that receive SSDI payments may qualify to receive SSDI benefits until a certain age as well, and these payments can be subtracted from the child support owed.
There is an obvious connection between job loss and child support payments. The rise of unemployment to over 10 percent has made it nearly impossible for many parents to make their child support payments, which is reflected in a surge in petitions for reduced payments.
4 out of 10 people who have lost their job remain unemployed for six months or more. This increase in long-term unemployment makes the situation worse. Also, men have been disproportionately laid off due to the recession’s impact on traditionally male-dominated industries like manufacturing and construction. Because nearly 83 percent of custodial parents are women, men are left to pay most child support obligations.
In Highland County, Ohio, requests for support modifications nearly doubled 
last year as the county’s unemployment rate rose to over 16 percent when a major area employer left. According to Christine Blevins, a supervisor for the county child support enforcement agency, the nature of the requested changes also shifted. While in past years most requests came from custodial parents seeking increases, in 2009 almost all the requests came from noncustodial parents who lost their jobs and ask for payment reductions.
As people whose payments are now based on unemployment will soon lose those benefits, Blevins expects to see another wave of downward adjustments. Payments are also no longer calculated assuming that a parent could at least find a full time, minimum-wage job, as that is no longer realistic in this economy. The situation puts everyone involved in a difficult position, as the non-custodial parents struggle to pay child support and the children in need have a harder time getting the support they need.
I recommend that if your financial situation changes and you can’t meet your support payments, call your attorney or the state child support agency to start the review process. It can take months for a reduction to be granted, especially in communities that have cut back on staffing child support offices. If you cut payments without official approval, it may lead to legal problems and possibly even an arrest.
Filed under Child Support in the News by on Jan 29th, 2010. Comment. 
A proposed bill in Indiana could force parents who are behind on their child support payments to hand over their gambling winnings to their children.
The legislation, which is being considered by the Judiciary Committee of the 
state Senate, would withhold casino jackpot winnings from parents who are behind on their child support payments. For example, winners of slot-machine winnings of $1,200 or more would be checked for delinquent child support when they try and cash their prize.
Over 165,000 non-custodial parents each owe more than $2,000 in child support, which equals over $2 billion in child support delinquencies, according to the state Department of Child Services, which is pushing the legislation. In a state where only 58 percent of child support payments are collected, the proposed bill is gaining support.
Stuart Showalter, of Indiana Shared Parenting, does not believe that parents who are having difficulty paying child support should be gambling with their money. Indiana Department of Child Services Spokesperson Ann Housworth believes that the custodial parents that are owed money, and their children, could benefit from any money collected with the proposed legislation.
Obviously, there are two sides to the issue. Indiana casinos are not in favor of the bill and worry that the legislation will cause too much of a delay on casino floors while names of big winners are checked for delinquent child support. According to Mike Smith, President of the Casino Association of Indiana, the delay will customers since casinos are fast-paced environments and winners want to be paid quickly. Smith also argues that because 70% of business comes from out of state, he’s not sure how successful the collections would be.
Regarding an argument that the casinos should not have to do the government’s dirty work to collect child support, an unsympathetic Indiana Sen. Scott Schneider (Indianapolis) says the state created the gambling industry, and casinos need to play by its rules.
Filed under Blog, Child Support in the News by on Jan 18th, 2010. Comment.
In my law practice I represent both Social Security disability claimants as well as Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy clients. Not surprisingly, many of my Social Security disability clients end up as bankruptcy clients. I also represent quite a few single moms in bankruptcy.
I frequently get questions from custodial parents (usually moms) who want to know if there is any way to find out if the non-custodial parent has applied for or is receiving Social Security disability. The answer to this question is “not directly from Social Security” as privacy laws prevent Social Security employees from revealing this information.
Although SSA will not reveal any information about disability benefits to a third party, that information is a matter of public record if the Social Security recipient files for bankruptcy. Bankruptcy petitions are publicly accessible documents and can be reviewed by anyone.
Further, under the 2005 changes to the bankruptcy laws, any Chapter 7 debtor who is currently paying child support must reveal that information to his Chapter 7 trustee. The trustee then sends out a form letter to both the custodial parent and any child support enforcement agency.
Child support debt is not dischargeable in bankruptcy. However, a bankruptcy petition may serve as a source of information about assets, other sources of income. You can access bankruptcy petitions and associated paperwork in person by visiting the office of the Clerk of Bankruptcy Court where the debtor filed, or you can access this information electronically using a system called PACER.
Filed under Social Security Disability and Bankruptcy by on Dec 7th, 2009. Comment.
Most of the comments and questions I get on this blog come from parents who are trying to get child support or who have child support obligations but no source of income to pay. This email comes from a teenager who was approved for disability and who contends that her parents are misusing funds that are supposed to be used for her care and welfare:
hi i am 17 i have been on disability since i was twelve i have a few questions. 1 my parents give me no money from it, nor do they allow me to do extra curricular activites with the money, archery, tae kon do art sculpting etc, is this legal of them? 2 they frequently use the money for the truck payement on a truck that is not neccasary nor running, they dont keep track of the money nor do they keep recepts. is that legal? 3 they wont let me work because it cancels the disability yet they give me no money from it, am i entitled to some money also can i turn them in or set up a confrence or court date to stop the ssi income since i am capable of working desire work and get no benefit from the check??? please i ask for your time soon cause i have to pay for damages and court costtts and cannot accuire work nor income fromm ssi to do so and i will be in comptemt thank you very much
Here are my thoughts: Generally when a benefits are awarded to a minor child, those payments are sent to the that child’s parents or legal guardians who serve as the “representative payee” for that minor child. The funds should be used for the health, education and welfare of the child.
Social Security rules provide that the representative payee may only use the child’s SSI benefits for the following purposes:
- medical treatment
- education or job skills training
The following expenses may also be paid from the child’s SSI account if they benefit the child and are related to the child’s impairment:
- personal needs or assistance (i.e. in-home nursing care)
- special equipment
- housing modification
- therapy or rehabilitation
- other items that are approved in advance by the local Social Security office
Filed under Misuse of funds by representative payee, Reader Stories, Representative Payee issues by on Nov 25th, 2009. Comment.
The comments and questions I receive on this site essentially fall into two camps. On one hand, the custodial parents (usually the mom) argue as follows:
What about the MOM of the CHILD or whoever else is taking care of your child? Is she/he on a fixed income? I’m sure being the only person taking care of your child, it is tight so y r u so special that you shouldn’t have to pay just because u r on a fixed income? If you are BEHIND in Child Support then u SUCK!! Period.
On the other hand, the non-custodial parent (usually a dad) writes with arguments like this:
During the time I was out following three heart attacks my support got in arrears. I was taken to court. From the get go I was treated like a criminal. Later I filed for SSDI and after 3 years and multiple denial a judge approved me. I am 20k behind now. My benefits letter states i will recieve $900 a month, a vast sum of money to try and live on I know. But minus the $550 a month for arrearages makes it better. So after all I get $350 an month to exist on. Personally I would rather be able to work, because $350 isn’t worth what you go through to get it. There’s a lot of predjudice against people when they say they are disabled. What some people don’t see or won’t accept is some of us are forced into disability.
I never expected to get enough from SSDI to “live” on, but I did expect enough to survive on.
Then there are the cynical readers:
Child support should be taken from both parents equally put into a monitored account and a debit card should be given to the custodial parent, all money used with account would be tracked. Now adays child support is used as a way of getting free money for travels new cars hanging out at the malls and nothing to do with the kids.
Are there any fair solutions? What do you think?
Filed under Reader Stories, Social Security Disability Benefits and Child Support by on Nov 21st, 2009. 8 Comments.
Are fathers who fall behind on child support payments always “deadbeat dads?” Some fathers (and their new spouses) argue that the custodial mom can be the villain in child support disputes. But does this attitude fairly contemplate the real life burden of raising children.
A blog reader named Arlene says that her husband’s ex-spouse is using her three kids as pawns to express anger towards her ex-husband. I wonder what the custodial mom would have to say about this?
What about mothers who won’t work with the fathers to make sure their kids are taken care of ? My husband worked 2 jobs and no matter how much he made child support always wanted more. At one point she wasn’t getting the money that was garnished and blamed him instead of trying to find out where the money was going. She would rather my husband look like the bad guy to his 3 kids. Fathers are not always dead beats sometimes the mothers make it impossible.
Filed under Reader Stories by on Nov 12th, 2009. Comment.
Should a custodial parent “cut some slack” to a non-custodial parent who is disabled and unable to work? Child support orders that are based on a father’s pre-disability income will be untenable when the non-custodial dad cannot work. The disabled father may not have the funds to hire a lawyer to go back to court to ask for a modification, and the delinquency balance will grow and grow. As a number of disabled fathers have reported, a child support delinquency resulting from an unexpected medical condition and loss of income can result in a wholesale forfeiture of both the lump sum and part of the monthly disability award. Is it reasonable to ask custodial parents to help the fathers of their children, or should the child support awards be fully enforced?
Here a woman named Patty weighs in. Do you agree with her take?
I think lots of women take advantage when a man is down and out and is disabled. I believe that yes they should take care of their children but what they can afford monthly based on disability income. They should also look at the reasons why that person is behind maybe he could not work for a few years and maybe the mother wouldn’t tell them where their child was and he just happened to stumble on where she lived. Also the Grandmother who has placement told him not to worry about child support and now she is worried and thats just what the mother said but the man stated that if they need any help then he would help if he has the money. Come on women quit being so money hungry. Oh yes by the way, I am a woman stating this.
“How do I know that the child support I am paying is really being used for the benefit of my kids?” This is a question I hear from my bankruptcy clients as well as from Social Security disability clients who are facing the prospect of giving up their lump sum and part of their monthly payments.
One of my blog readers proposes a solution to this dilemma:
Child support should be taken from both parents equally put into a monitored account and a debit card should be given to the custodial parent, all money used with account would be tracked. Nowadays child support is used as a way of getting free money for travels new cars hanging out at the malls and nothing to do with the kids.
Is this solution realistic? Does the man who wrote this have an accurate understanding about the obligations of a custodial parent? What do you think?
Filed under Blog by on Nov 7th, 2009. Comment.
I regularly warn my clients that child support orders do not grow stale or disappear. Even if the child did not live with the parent awarded custody, the obligation remains as long as the child support order remains in place. If the custodial parent received welfare benefits, the state issuing those benefits may gain the right to collect from the non-custodial parent.
Here is a very disturbing report from a man who is facing financial ruin when his joint (with new wife) checking account was drained to pay an old and probably forgotten child support debt:
my checking account which receives both my ssdi & my new wife’s ssdi have been seized for the full amount of both our checks with no notification and leaves us with a negative $19,000 balance. My bills are bouncing including my mortgage. We are trying to get an attorney but since we live in florida but the support order is from Mass. no one will take the case. The child is now 40 years old and did not live with the biological mother during the time period of this support, but all other payments were made. Please help us before we become one the homeless.
Jonathan Ginsberg