It is my understanding that the following is true.
If you are divorced and have a dependent child and that child is receiving social security benefits, in most states, the benefit the child receives does indeed affect the amount of child support paid by the person responsible for paying child support.
I am a father, divorced and have a young child. He lives with his mom. I pay child support in the amount of $1,200 dollars a month. When I retire, my child will be eligible to receive approximately $1200 per month in dependent SS payments (my monthly SS benefit will be approximately $2,400.) The child is eligible to receive 50% of my benefit on his own. It does not affect my benefit.
What most states do. They add the total of the social security benefits my child will receive in a year to my annual income for child support amount calculation only. This is not taxable income, it is just added to calculate the child support amount.
The monthly payment from Social Security for the child is then deducted from my court ordered support payment, recalculated after adding the child benefit to my income for calculation purposes only. So if I was paying $1,200 a month out of my own pocket and the child's benefit from SSA is $1,200, I no longer have to pay child support. If the SSA child support is less than the court ordered support I must pay the difference. If it is greater than the court ordered amount I do not get a refund of the excess.
So social security benefits for a dependent child can reduce or eliminate child support payments for the spouse who is legally obligated to pay them by virtue of your divorce orders. You can not double dip or receive both.
The dependent child does not have to live with the spouse paying child support. The benefit is due the child regardless as it is the child's wherever he or she is residing.
I have read many responses to questions saying the spouse obligated to pay child support has to continue to pay the same amount despite any social security benefits the child receives. I believe that is not true, at least for children of retirees.
By Bill F
Add your voice! Click below to comment. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!
I have an adult disabled daughter and when I got divorced in 1983, she was 15 at the time. I got her put on SSI and she was getting child support from her Dad. Her SSI benefits were reduced according to the amount of child support she received. After she no longer received child support her SSI payments went up almost as much as the amount of child support we had been receiving. Then when her Dad and I applied for retirement SS benefits I had to help her apply for what is referred to as Disabled Adult Childs benefits, instead of the straight SSI.
I don't understand why any normal child would receive benefits from a retired parent as long as that parent was able to continue pay the same amount of child support.
Social Security benefits seem to be a regular subject on Thrifty. I know from experience - working with people applying for SS benefits - and I can state from personal experience - every case is different.
Benefits have changed over the years. Sometimes a mistake can be made by the clerk at the SS office and you can go to a different clerk on another day and receive entirely different information. This rarely happens but it does not hurt to check if you feel something is not "right". Be sure to review all of the papers that you are asked to sign (then review the copies later).
Child support and SS benefits is one of the most difficult as there are so many variables. Veterans can sometimes receive free legal advice. I would advise anyone paying or receiving child support to seek legal advise (from someone who works in this area) if at all possible.
Free legal aid is available to a lot of people but many do not know how to find help. I would make it my business to research every avenue for assistance before I had a final "meeting" with SS officer.
Most people are honest but please keep in mind that all questions must be answered truthfully because this is one office that has access to everything! SS system is set up to "make the rounds" and find everything with your (or who ever) name and SS# (just like the IRS!) if anything stated runs up a "red flag".
Truthfully, most SS questions are easily answered by SS clerks so that is the best place to start because answers from anyone else may be from "personal" experience and would not apply to your situation.
You need to go to court to get the support order modified for your ssr benefit to child is considered your child support. It is not automatic. Further more if your ex is collecting a title ll benefit with a secondary for the child that poses yet another issue for a person can only get one. The higher of the two. Then you will have to pay from your check.
So can the ablegee father pay child support and social security ? To the mother for the child .
In my case her father quit his job lost insurance only pays one pmt to child support out of his SS every 60 days just to keep from going to jail for non pmt. So I'm wondering if she can get his benefit pay from SS with out his permission.
If father is getting ssi,thats like welfare. But if he gets social security benefits or social security disability, you get this when you have worked and earned enough to get it,and you had paid into social security through out your working life which was deducted from a paycheck. Social security is a tax taken out of pols payroll check . So when you retire you get social security benefits. If you cant work anymore because of your health is bad that's (social security disability ,you get this if approved, and you have worked and been paying in and worked long enough ) . If it's not ssi,that he is getting ,,,then, first do you need to go to social security office and tell them you have full custody, if you do and the childs father is getting social security, you want to apply for your child to get the family benefits which is half of what father gets. It dont affect the fathers paycheck. The check comes from social security. So if father gets 1600.00 a month the child that's under 18 years will get 800.00 otherwise if theres more kids that
that the man fathered its lower because they will get some too.
I am a 32 year old mother of 3 boys ages 5, 2, & 7 months. I have been with Their father for 6 years, he just turned 62 last year. He is receiving social security retirement income, and he also gets separate checks for the boys. The kids portion totals $1140 monthly. He is under the impression that if the kids and I were to leave and live separate from him, he would still receive the benefits, all of it including the portion belonging to the kids. How does this work? What if he really tries to not give me any of it for the boys? Will i have to take him to court?
Absolutely not! if he leaves the money paid to the kids will go to the kids andsince you would be the custodial parent of the children you would receive the benefits on their behalf and if he was ordered to pay child support it would be reduced by the social security they receive. The father does not get to keep the kids portion it would go with the children where ever the reside. Don't let him scare you he is completely wrong! the only benefit he would receive is that the social security payments made to your children would count towards child support. So you said you guys receive $1140 monthly if the child support is to be $1140 then he wouldn't have to pay the child support the social security money would cover that. If say the child support was $1500 they would apply the $1140 towards the child support and he would be responsible out of pocket the difference of $360 a month. Finally if he is required to pay lets say $900 a month child support then the $1140 would cover the child support and you would get the full $1140 and he would not get a refund on the social security paid over the amount of his child support.
So to answer your question He is completely wrong and your children would be taken care of that money is theirs and not his he receives his social security and that amount $1140 is the kids money and it follows your children where ever they reside until they are 18 years old. So do not worry your kids will be taken care of he cannot take that money trust me the government will make sure he can't take that from the kids. He has no right to that money it is the kids money!
I have A questions plz. TY I'm a father of 2 daughters. Kennedy is 21 and does not receive child support but my X wife still gets same amount. I don't have so problem with that.my question is now that my youngest daughter graduated in may or beginning of June. Now that child support is finished do I get the . Money that she was receiving? Or just stops. Everyone tells me I'll get that but I don't think so z helpme. and if I did I already talked to them both. I will give them few hundred dollars a month there mom didn't spend any on them. I always came through for my kids. TYVM if you help me I'd be so appreciative.. thanks in
No you will not get that money. The money your kids were getting was not deducted from your benifits check. It didnt affect your social security benefits at all. This was paid to the kids custodial parent to help her raise the children. It was paid by social security. That being said, the money will.just stop. When child turns 18 it stops coming to them and it just stops. I know because I ask questions at social security office when I signed my son up to get benefits from his retired dad. Our child 14 I have sole custody.
I called Social Security on this question. My daughter, who is young, gets social security benefits because my ex (her adopted grandfather/father) is at retirement age. He is soon to retire and does not want to pay child support. He may have read the post that said, he doesn't have to. That is incorrect. SS payments do not take the place of state mandated child support. In fact, a court can order that he pay child support out of his own SS payments after retirement.
Summary: I'm 67, collecting SSA retirements benefits and still working, paying $1300/month in child support in IL, my two children have an SSA benefit of $928/month until they graduate from high school. The total is more than my child support.
IL new law states (7-1-17) that there is shared income model used to calculate child support for each parent. And there is an IL statute that provides the opportunity, even before this new law, that determines SSA benefits to children may indeed be considered a replacement for child support, based on an SSA benefit alone. You will need a lawyer to file a petition to the court, because nothing can be changed without a judge's order.
Child support and social security
Friend of the court flint Michigan told me and social security office told me ,that my ex husband still pays 208. A month child support. My son gets 832.00 a month off his fathers social security benefits when retired at age 62. It is true..I get both . Support and benefits for my son to raise him. I have sole custody. 2008.. michigan
Does your payment of$2400 a month stay the same? In otherwards, your child recieves 1200 a month and you still get your 2400 a month. Is this true?
I am going through the same ordeal in the state of Illinois. There seems to be a choice in whether or not to include the SSA benefit for the children, which definitly results in an increased income, and therefore more child support in the new income shared model.
How did you case turn out and in what state?
Thanks!
So you say cannot double dip or receive both. Thats whats been happening with me. The child support order was for $206 a month and she was ALSO receiving the derivative benefit for my son at $211 a month. This went on for 3 years and now domestic relations scheduled a contempt hearing for me because when they fax social security the support order, nothing happens, nothing is garnished. I think social security knows what happened but there is a lack of communication between govt agencies and now im in trouble because of it. What can I do to reverse this and get my thousands of dollars back?
I was rendered disabled after a work related accident, I agreed to continue to pay my court order support to my ex wife with the understanding that her auxiliary benefits would be left alone to grow, she was awarded 50% of 1400 and upon her 18th birthday that amount would have been 92k. Instead I discovered the mother cashed it in before it matured around 45k and took the monthly 700 adding it to her 900 support payments. I lived in squalor for years, homeless at some points and my only driving force was knowing I could at least ensure my daughter could afford to invest in herself, that she could afford college but instead my ex squandered it all on vacations and cars for her and her new husband ( who is perfectly healthy and chooses not work) she told the child and her friends and family it was auxiliary child support yet I owed no arrears. The court basically said I don't have to pay support anymore now that the child is a adult but I feel my ex committed a crime, keep in mind her yearly income is close to 120k she just likes to live far beyond her capabilities and I am the complete opposite. I feel my daughter is the true victim here and the family court of Gloucester county NJ seemed to think different, they even went as far as to tell me that my ex wife whom I was legally divorced from 4 years prior to my accident did indeed have legal claim to those funds, if that were true why is it called the children's auxiliary fund and not the EX wife's auxiliary fund? I since left that horrible state and I am fine but my daughter , that sacrifice was for her not so my ex could party it up, my child feels ripped off by someone she was supposed to trust and somehow Nj ( who's family court systems are known to be biased) just said no harm no fowl, 92k is gone and my child is just beat, better luck next time kid?
Add your voice! Click below to comment. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!
