Arrears and Garnishable Income

[Chajoy1978]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

I'm due to go back to court in a couple of weeks regarding my child support case. The current child support is set to $0 (it was $317 for the last 14 years) while we are waiting for the other parents answer on whether or not he is approved for SSDI/SSI. I have been told SSDI is garnishable and SSI is not, is that true? Also, when I went to court in January, the judge said the $5000+ in arrears was still owed to me. However, 2 months ago DCSS starting the process of closing the case and set the arrears owed to $0. They could not give me a reason why they were going to close it but I was able to get them to "re-open" it due to the fact that we have a court date coming up. I was under the impression that arrears would always be owed, that they could not be "dismissed", is that true? Also, what is some verbiage I could use to possibly get the judge to set even a small amount of child suport? The other parent has a history of not working, not paying child support, has been on Worker's compensation 4 times, denied SSDI/SSI once already and doesn't even get him half the time he's supposed to according to the visitation order. I'm having such a hard time understanding how it is so easy for the courts to dismiss my child's needs.

 

[Proserpina]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

I'm due to go back to court in a couple of weeks regarding my child support case. The current child support is set to $0 (it was $317 for the last 14 years) while we are waiting for the other parents answer on whether or not he is approved for SSDI/SSI. I have been told SSDI is garnishable and SSI is not, is that true? Also, when I went to court in January, the judge said the $5000+ in arrears was still owed to me. However, 2 months ago DCSS starting the process of closing the case and set the arrears owed to $0. They could not give me a reason why they were going to close it but I was able to get them to "re-open" it due to the fact that we have a court date coming up. I was under the impression that arrears would always be owed, that they could not be "dismissed", is that true? Also, what is some verbiage I could use to possibly get the judge to set even a small amount of child suport? The other parent has a history of not working, not paying child support, has been on Worker's compensation 4 times, denied SSDI/SSI once already and doesn't even get him half the time he's supposed to according to the visitation order. I'm having such a hard time understanding how it is so easy for the courts to dismiss my child's needs.

Correct - SSI cannot be garnished, but SSDI can be garnished for support obligations.

Here's the difficulty though. The court can order whatever the court wishes to order - but if the obligor parent is disabled it becomes a case of cannot work versus can but won't.

In the case of the former, the court can set the current obligation to zero. In the case of the latter, there's no good reason why the obligor parent can't be imputed an income....

.... with one caveat. Being denied for disability doesn't mean that you're not disabled. It simply means that - in most cases - you haven't been able to provide enough evidence to prove the disability.

Bear in mind too that SSDI does come with dependent benefits and these can be considered as child support.

You might (or might not) find this interesting: http://www.ssdfacts.com/california

 

[Chajoy1978]

Arrears

Thank you for answering the questions regarding the SSDI/SSI. However, the question remains regarding the Arrears that are owed to me. Can the courts or DCSS dismiss the over $5000 in arrears that are owed to me? I am not and was not on aid while these arrears accrued. Aren't I the one that is supposed to "forgive" the arrears? Otherwise they will continue to be owed? Also, if the Child Support case is closed, who will enforce the arrears being paid to me? I was told by DCSS that they did not enforce any arrears owed if the case was closed.

 

[Proserpina]

Thank you for answering the questions regarding the SSDI/SSI. However, the questions still remains regarding the Arrears that are owed to me. Can the courts or DCSS dismiss the over $5000 in arrears that are owed to me? I am not and was not on aid while these arrears accrued. Aren't I the one that is supposed to "forgive" the arrears? Otherwise they will continue to be owed? Also, if the Child Support case is closed, who will enforce the arrears being paid to me? I was told by DCSS that they did not enforce any arrears owed if the case was closed.

I don't believe the courts commonly wipe out arrears unless the parents agree to it. What did they tell you when you called to check?

It's true however that the state will stop trying to enforce arrears if the case is closed - and that turns it right back to you. But again, a parent of limited income isn't likely to be paying the arrears off any time soon.

 

[Chajoy1978]

Dcss

A couple of months ago when they attempted to close the case, I got so many different answers from different people about the case in general that I honestly don't know what/who to believe. By the end of the fiasco, they basically told me that if the case is eventually closed that I should get an attorney if I felt it was worth it.

 

[Proserpina]

A couple of months ago when they attempted to close the case, I got so many different answers from different people about the case in general that I honestly don't know what/who to believe. By the end of the fiasco, they basically told me that if the case is eventually closed that I should get an attorney if I felt it was worth it.

Y'know.... I'm going to send a note to someone who might be able to answer more fully.

 

[single317dad]

If the disability (either flavor) is approved, you shouldn't expect to collect much support in the future. That's just a simple, hard fact. Imagine you were still married; if your husband was suddenly disabled, what would his ongoing contribution toward supporting the family be? It'll be about the same as a divorced couple.

I would not agree to the arrears being forgiven. While you probably won't collect much of it, there's always the chance of a windfall in the future, and many of those are garnishable. DCSS is just a state agency; they don't have the power to dismiss or forgive anything. They can ask the judge to do so, and rightly or wrongly the judge could order that. You would be in for a pointless legal battle if it happened.

DCSS is not going to assist you going forward with enforcement against a disabled person, assuming his disability is approved. The fact is that you are due the arrears (which you'll probably never collect) but you are not going to be due any ongoing support going forward. Make the necessary adjustments to your lifestyle.

 

[LdiJ]

If the disability (either flavor) is approved, you shouldn't expect to collect much support in the future. That's just a simple, hard fact. Imagine you were still married; if your husband was suddenly disabled, what would his ongoing contribution toward supporting the family be? It'll be about the same as a divorced couple.

I would not agree to the arrears being forgiven. While you probably won't collect much of it, there's always the chance of a windfall in the future, and many of those are garnishable. DCSS is just a state agency; they don't have the power to dismiss or forgive anything. They can ask the judge to do so, and rightly or wrongly the judge could order that. You would be in for a pointless legal battle if it happened.

DCSS is not going to assist you going forward with enforcement against a disabled person, assuming his disability is approved. The fact is that you are due the arrears (which you'll probably never collect) but you are not going to be due any ongoing support going forward. Make the necessary adjustments to your lifestyle.

However again, it bears repeating that if he is awarded any SSDI the child will receive a children's benefit. It may not be much, but it would be something.

 

[Chajoy1978]

Thank you

I really appreciate the information you all have given me. If all that I can get is the children's benefits from his SSDI (if he wins), than so be it! Something is better than nothing. As far as if we were still married and he became disabled, he's been trying to get out of paying child support and/or out of working for years. It's not like he's some upstanding guy that's been supporting his kid and all of a sudden became disabled. If that were the case, I probably would agree to forgive the arrears because that's the kind of person I am. I know you guys don't get into the touchy feelly side of things on here (and I don't blame you lol), but this information will help me start the process of letting go. I don't really even care about the money so much, it's the principal of it all. Thanks again.

 

[tuffbrk]

However again, it bears repeating that if he is awarded any SSDI the child will receive a children's benefit. It may not be much, but it would be something.

Just a question - I have an older sister who is on disability and she received several thousand dollars total split into 3 payments as it took a couple of years for her to obtain approval. If he's waiting on an answer, isn't it possible he also will receive a lump sum payment if it's finally awarded? Could the OP place a judgement/lien against him so if it is awarded, she would receive some portion of hte arrears?

 

[Proserpina]

Just a question - I have an older sister who is on disability and she received several thousand dollars total split into 3 payments as it took a couple of years for her to obtain approval. If he's waiting on an answer, isn't it possible he also will receive a lump sum payment if it's finally awarded? Could the OP place a judgement/lien against him so if it is awarded, she would receive some portion of hte arrears?

If he does get SSDI, the kids' dependent benefits may also qualify for a similar lump sum payment which he can file to offset at least some (if not all) of the arrears owed.

Outside of that though, Mom needs to get on with filing a lien; it's no longer automatic and it needs to be in place before he gets approved. And they'll no longer take the entire backpay amount.

(Or at least, that's what Them Interweb Lawyer Folk are saying at the moment. YMMV)

This Mom might not have that much luck though, since apparently the State isn't going to help her with arrears any longer.

 

[Chajoy1978]

If he does get SSDI, the kids' dependent benefits may also qualify for a similar lump sum payment which he can file to offset at least some (if not all) of the arrears owed.

Outside of that though, Mom needs to get on with filing a lien; it's no longer automatic and it needs to be in place before he gets approved. And they'll no longer take the entire backpay amount.

(Or at least, that's what Them Interweb Lawyer Folk are saying at the moment. YMMV)

This Mom might not have that much luck though, since apparently the State isn't going to help her with arrears any longer.

Good ole' California (much sarcasm intended)! Would I ask the judge at my next court date for a lien? Or would I need to file separately?

 

[LdiJ]

Good ole' California (much sarcasm intended)! Would I ask the judge at my next court date for a lien? Or would I need to file separately?

If your child(ren) is still a minor the way you would go about getting the SSDI benefits for your child would be to go to the nearest Social Security Office and file for them against their father's case. That way any back pay would go to you as well as any future benefits.

It would be up to dad to file with the courts to have any back pay credited towards his arrearages, and it would be up to you to file to attempt to get any additional support garnished from his own SSDI.

However, for all practical purposes the most likely end result is that any SSDI back pay owed as children's benefits would replace his arrearages, and any current children's benefits would replace child support. So its really important that you make the claim with the SSA for your children. The children's benefits do not reduce his benefits, they are a supplement for the children.

Children's benefits are 50% of the SSDI benefits awarded to the parent. Those benefits are equally divided between the children of the disabled parent.

 

[Chajoy1978]

Garnishment Order and SSDI back pay

I recently went to court for child support. The NCP was very recently awarded SSDI. DCSS placed a garnishment order on 8/24/2015 (the day of court) for the arrears that are owed prior to the monthly child support being set to $0. He stated in court that he would start receiving his first monthly benefit payment on 9/3/2015. I do not believe he has received any of his back pay. My question is, if he has not received his pack pay yet, and even though the order was placed after he was approved, is it possible for his lump sum to still be intercepted prior to being sent to him? Also, how long does it take SSA to receive an IWO from DCSS? Hope this makes sense!

 

[Chajoy1978]

If he does get SSDI, the kids' dependent benefits may also qualify for a similar lump sum payment which he can file to offset at least some (if not all) of the arrears owed.

Outside of that though, Mom needs to get on with filing a lien; it's no longer automatic and it needs to be in place before he gets approved. And they'll no longer take the entire backpay amount.

(Or at least, that's what Them Interweb Lawyer Folk are saying at the moment. YMMV)

This Mom might not have that much luck though, since apparently the State isn't going to help her with arrears any longer.

I went to court on 8/24/2015 (Monday). He was approved for SSDI and I believe he got his approval letter sometime last week. DCSS placed a garnishment order that day for the arrears owed. From what I'm reading here, the order would have had to be in place prior to him getting approved? Even if he hasn't gotten his back pay yet? It can't be garnished at this point?