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.
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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:
Filed under Reader Stories, Social Security Disability Benefits and Child Support by on Nov 21st, 2009. 8 Comments. 
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?
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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.
Read more on Couple’s Joint Checking Account Drained for Old Out of State Support Order…
My wife has 2 children from a former marriage. Her ex just went on SSDI and the kids get $250.00 each from this. In the past he has only paid $250.00 per month child support and that has come from his new wife paying it, before that he would not pay, now when have been served papers to go to court so he can get this dropped off, they say that the SSDI is enough, can he get this done in the state of Texas?
Jonathan’s response: this is a legal question that can best be answered by a Texas lawyer who practices in the area of domestic relations. A good starting point would be Laura W. Morgan’s Child Support Guidelines article, which cites a 1997 Texas appellate case (Johnson v. Johnson) that permitted a child support obligor a dollar for dollar offset credit for the Social Security benefit received against the child support obligation. The justification for such an offset is that auxiliary benefits arise from a claimant’s work and payment into the Social Security system – since these contributions are based on income the claimant should be able to use funds that arise therefrom to offset child support obligations.
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Social Security law provides that dependent children may claim “auxiliary benefits” when a disabled non-custodial parent becomes eligible for SSDI benefits. Do these dependents’ benefits serve to offset a non-custodial parent’s child support obligations?
It appears that the answer to this question depends on laws of the State that issued the support order.
In Illinois, for example, there is case law which provides that auxiliary benefits do offset child support obligations. According to a March, 2006 article in the DuPage County Bar Association Newsletter, Illinois Social Security disability attorney Harold Conick wrote:
Courts across the nation have struggled with the concept of whether or not child benefits payable under the Social Security disability programs should be credited against the support obligation of a disabled obligor parent. Illinois follows the majority view on the issue that Social Security benefits paid on behalf of the non custodial parent satisfy the parent’s child support obligation for the period that such benefits are received. Marriage of Henry,156 Ill2d 541, 622 N.E.2d 803(1993)
In Henry, the obligor petitioned the trial court for modification of his child support obligation. The Illinois Supreme Court stated that the clear intent of the Illinois legislature is set forth in 750 ILCS 5/510. Any judgment respecting maintenance or support is to be modified only to installments accruing subsequent to due notice by the moving party. However, the Henry court held that Social Security dependent disability benefits paid on behalf of an obligor, satisfied such parents child support obligation. The court came to this conclusion after analyzing both the minority and majority view of several state courts opinions on this issue. The prevailing logic on the matter is that since Social Security disability benefits are earned, and are based upon the earnings record of the primary beneficiary, such benefits should be regarded as income. Flemming v. Nestor. The court analogized income from Social Security child benefits as identical to income derived from employment by the non custodial parent. The court, cited the rationale of Jamizez v. Weinberger , “Social Security death benefits represent money earned and contributed through the efforts of a working parent… which payments, like the proceeds of an insurance policy, substitute as income to the worker’s family should he . . . become disabled.” The Henry court further relied on authority that held that Social Security dependent disability benefits replace support the child loses upon the disability of the parent wage earner, responsible for the child’s support. Tossie v. Califano.Read more on Do Auxiliary Benefits Offset Child Support Obligations?…
Can a custodial parent who is owed past due child support turn to Social Security to collect that child support from a disability recipient? Yes, according to Social Security Ruling 79-4, the Social Security Administration can withhold a percentage of a claimant’s benefits in an amount equal to what SSA could withhold to pay delinquent income tax debt.
Jonathan Ginsberg