How Does Social Security Disability Benefits Affect Child Support Payments?

If you are recently divorced, you might be wondering whether a social security disability benefit can be garnished for the child support payments. Here we will shed light on this subject matter in the context of family laws in California.

As with all legal content, make sure that if you need advice seek out a social security lawyer or child support attorney.

Social Disability Benefits and Child Support Payments

Most social security benefits can be garnished for child support payments if the recipient of the benefit is not making child support payments. For the benefits to be garnished, a claim can be made in the court. The claimant must prove to the court that the ex-partner is not fulfilling the child support obligations. This claim can be made even when the social security application is pending.

Once the claim is approved, the judge will issue an income withholding order. This order should be presented to the social security agency to get the child support funds.

Having said that, you should note that there is one kind of social security benefit known as the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) that the federal government does not allow to be garnished for the child support payments. The income is paid to the disabled adults who have limited income and resources. Garnishing the SSI benefits for child payments will result in financial hardships for the beneficiary.

How Can a California Family Law Attorney Help You in Child Support Cases?

A lot of factors needs to looked into to determine whether social security benefits can be garnished for child support payments. An experienced lawyer who specializes in child support cases in California can help you in navigating through the complex family laws relating to social disability benefits.

An experienced attorney will go to great lengths to convince the court why social security benefits should be garnished for child support. The attorney will gather evidence to show to the court that the ex-partner is not making the required payments due to which the benefits should be garnished for satisfying the legal obligations.

In case you are the one receiving the social security benefits, and you think that your ex-partner’s request for garnishment of the benefits is unfair, you can also benefit from hiring an attorney. The attorney will try to convince the court to reduce the disability payments by presenting evidence such as:

• Financial hardship due to reduction in the social security benefits
• Increased financial need due to a second marriage
• Relative earnings of the ex-partner
• Medical fees for physical therapy etc.

In conclusion, hiring an attorney in Orange County will increase the odds of a favorable court outcome in child support cases. Call one of our local lawyers to learn more about garnishment of social security benefits for child support payments.