Posted by DivorceLine in Do I Have to Pay Child Support In Florida If I Receive Disability Payments From the Government?
One popular question is whether or not a parent has to pay child support in Florida if the youngsters are receiving advantages as a result of the parent’s disability.
The short answer is that social security payments do not negate the obligation to pay child support. A disabled parent, nonetheless, does receive credit for the social security paid for the benefit of the youngsters. In some instances, specifically where the disabled parent has no other income, these payments may well truly exceed the support obligation. The reality of the matter is that, to make any determination, you really should still have a Florida family law attorney or other qualified individual apply the Florida child support guidelines, correctly taking into account any social security advantages paid to the youngsters.
Under the Florida child support guidelines, social security is treated as income for purposes of calculating the parents’ child support obligation. Specially, under section 61.30(2)(a)(8), the social security advantages are treated as income to the disabled parent.
The disabled parent, having said that, also receives credit for paying support equal to the quantity of the social security received on behalf of the youngsters. In other words, the social security dollars are hypothetically earned by the disabled parent and paid by that parent to the youngsters.
This rule was established by the 1st District Court of Appeals in Williams v. Williams, 560 So. 2d 308 (Fla. Very first DCA 1990). In Williams, the trial court failed to credit a disabled father for social security payments received by the mother on behalf of their 3 kids. The court ordered that, in addition to the disability money the mother received directly, the father also had to pay child support out of his own disability payments.
As a result, after satisfying his child support obligations, the father had no dollars from which to live. The Very first District discovered that the court erred when calculating the child support guideline quantity by failing correctly to account for the social security payments received by the youngsters.
In countless instances, the disability advantages will exceed the disabled parent’s obligation to pay support. This is specially true where the disabled parent has no other material income.
