Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
My ex-husband informed me he will retire at age 62, very soon. He says my son will be eligible for social security. Does this mean his monthly child support payments will end?
By Mari from Wenatchee, WA
It is my understanding that when a parent collects disability, each of that persons children is also eligible to collect SS disability payments too. You may already know this. But I'm not sure about the catching up part. Good luck.
Editor's Note: It might be worth calling the SS office to check but his children should be getting their own benefit as well as possible back pay and if you are their guardian, you will be the trustee.
Call Social Security.
How old is your son and is he disabled? Just because your ex-husband goes on social security doesn't mean your son will get it, The way I understand it from talking to many different people kids only get social security if they are disabled or if a parent dies, then they get survivor benefits. When I got divorced in 1983, my developmentally disabled daughter received SSI after I applied for it and her Dad also paid child support. In fact he was paying support before I applied for SSI for her. But calling social security for answers would be your best bet.
Yes, call social security. If your ex is going to start collecting SS he is still responsible for child support if your child is under 18. Social Security may start sending you a check to help compensate what he needs to pay you but he will still probably be paying you.
I went to Social Security Disability two years ago after a medical incident that keeps me from working. I told Social Security about my child support requirement. They started sending my ex wife checks each month that cut my payments from $900 to roughly $300. But I am still obligated to pay until my kids turn 18. Not sure how that applies if the child is disabled. That is a question to ask as well.
Please visit your local Social Security office to talk to them personally and get an application with instructions of what they need to know and for you to submit to them. And please know that despite another poster saying they think a child might not be able to get benefits because of a parent retiring, well, that is not the case. Here is an SS link that will be helpful to you:
Oh, and if the SS is approved, your ex will still be responsible for the child support difference.
In my situation, when my son's father started receiving SS, my son received a SS check PLUS the child support. The child support was not affected. Good luck! The SS continued until my son graduated (he was 18 when he graduated he turned 19 in July after graduation) and the SS continued through his 18th year while he was a full-time student. The last check was the month he graduated. Good luck!
Not necessarily, Mari. How much you get on SSI is determined individually, mainly by the amount of money coming into the household (all sources). If, however, your son is not living with you, then they would look at his income, as well as anyone else he might be living with. Like most government programs, they allow a certain amount for necessities. We did not stop getting child support until our child turned 18 (I've since learned, that is not always the case, with child support, either.
A good point from others, call Social Security. When my X went on SS I started getting 150.00 a month even though he owes me about 20 grand. I think they base your son's child support on how much SS the x gets.
Do give them a call and find out. Good luck to you.
Gem
I just found out who my 23 year old son's father is, but he's deceased. Are we entitled to back child support or Social Security benefits?
If so what documents will I need for verification?So does the attorney general's office get informed if the non-custodial parent gets SSDI? Or does the custodial parent inform them?
My younger child has my ex-husband's last name. He is not her father. She gets Social Security from him due to her last name and he is on her birth certificate. But she also gets child support from her real father. A lawyer in court told me this is legal in the state of Louisiana.
The issue is my ex didn't want to sign papers stating she is his real daughter and the real father didn't sign to say no! She gets from both recently as the real father had a paternity test too see if she is his. Now I get from both. Should I report the situation to the Social Security office or just stop child support!
My two children currently receive SS benefits from their disabled non-custodial parent. In our divorce decree its states a designated amount for child support, but what the children receive is less due to their non-custodial parent becoming disabled after the divorce decree was filed.
Would it be worth my time to rehire my previous family law attorney to attempt to get an increase in the amount that they receive on a monthly basis. What they currently receive financially is not enough, any additional financial help I receive is a loan that I have to back. I am constantly told by the non-custodial parent that they're not financially obligated to do anything more than the check the children receive, and the non-custodial parent is not following the visitation guidelines or have adequate living accommodations for visitation.
By NI
The amount of child support a person receives depends on the amount of income, the none custodial parent has. It is also figured by your income. In most cases, the parents are supposed to go half and half for supporting their kids. There is something wrong here, if you have to borrow to make ends meet. You don't get any further ahead doing that and then paying it back. You might have to lower your standard of living, either get a job, better job, or a second job.
It isn't completely up to the absent parent to support the kids. When it comes right down to the amount of child support you receive, a lot depends on the amount of SS the absent parent gets.
Go to your child support enforcement office and ask for a modification of child support, which will be done with a moderator that is an attorney and won't cost anything. Be aware if you do anything the amount of child support that you are getting could be lowered to less than what you currently receive.
I think I would hire the attorney and go back to family court. My daughter had custody of her son. When he turned 14 he wanted to go live with his father. She lost custody. She is also disabled. She has to pay child support and her disability was not even considered. She also has a little girl. She only gets $800.00 a month to live on. She has to pay $158.00 of that in child support.
Take his worthless behind back to court. It shouldn't matter when he got disability. His kids need to eat and deserves a warm and safe place to lay their heads at night. Dont let him skip on by. Let him pick up cans. Do it for the kids. They are entitled to it. Good luck.
I know very little, but I thought that I'd pass on what I have seen. My aunt/uncle had a motorcycle accident that left her totally paralized from the waist down. She went on ss disability. Years later, she and my uncle had a baby girl. The daughter collected a disability check each month until she reached 18 and or finished her schooling, because of her mother being disabled. The check the daughter received was to be used to benefit and enrich the childs life in places where the mom couldn't because of her disability. I don't know if it's the same in your case. Also, as far as I knew, you don't need an attorney to go to family court. I have rarely heard of that.
I have two daughters with my husband. We broke up and he went after my children and won. I was not receiving SSI at the time. He left NY where we are from and moved down south. I haven't seen them for two years after he left New York to move to South Carolina. I moved down to South Carolina to be with him and my kids, but things aren't working between us. I'm receiving a SSI check and he works. Can he collect child support from me, since I am disabled? And if so, how can he get financial help when he has got a job?
By M.F
Yes he can take money from your SS check if he has custody. As for the extra help that is normally based on income and family size.
He can't get anything from your SSI check but he can draw money from Social Security because your disabled. He needs to be aware though they watch things very closely. He needs to be careful of how he spends that money and to document everything; otherwise they will come after him. I know. I was in the same boat. My ex collected SS for my son and was taken to court when he was caught spending the money on himself instead of our son.
You are responsible for child support. If you went on disability after child support was initially granted to your husband you are still responsible for child support BUT.... did you tell Social Security you were paying child support?
When I went on disability I asked Social Security about it and they started sending 2/3rds of my child support responsibility to my spouse. I was only responsible for a 3rd at that point. And that 2/3rds was not out of my disability pay, it was above and beyond. You need to talk to Social Security about what help might be available.
I don't think your husband can collect from your SSI as that is a payment for someone who doesn't have the work credits to qualify for Social Security disability payments. However, if you're living with him and your children, I believe you could be in trouble and have to pay back some of your SSI as it is based on income need. I'm not sure if your children could collect payments, but I believe they can until they are out of high school.
My ex and I were never married. We have two children together, but there has never been a child support order. He can retire in a few years. When he retires, will my kids be eligible for SS dependent benefits on his account? Or does there need to be a child support order in place for them to receive benefits?
Will he be required to provide that information about his dependent children? I can guarantee if he thinks he can get away with not reporting he has dependent children, he will. Can I apply for them?My ex has my kids 5 days a week. We have 50/50 joint and physical custody. He gets a disability check and gets $600 more for my kids.
I'm paying child support. Would that affect his check? Will his benefits get reduced?I was injured in the military and got approved for SSDI. I've paid child support on time and lived on limited income. I told the SSA that my child lives 50/50 with both parents. The SSA sent my ex the back pay for the child, how can that be legal?
She gets double child support paid to her when I've been suffering and going without to pay for my child. I have proof of child support paid, can I take my ex to court to get my SSDI backpay?My disability check was being garnished for child support by court order and processed by Social Security. My daughter turned 18 last December and I received a notice that my support had been terminated. Then the same month I received a notice from SS again stating that she started college, so the garnishment would continue until she graduated. So I was never without paying and they pulled it out in Dec., Jan., Feb., and now March. Then I received another letter stating that she actually never started college, so the SS office said again I was not obligated to keep paying. Yet, they never stopped garnishing me. So I would ask, how do I get my over payments back? I use direct express. Will they put it on the direct express card or how will I get it?
thank you
I am a grandparent raising 3 grandchildren. The parents were ordered to pay child support and not much at that, but anyway they have never paid a dime in 2 years. Now the mother is bragging that she will never have to pay me because she just got her SSI. My question is this, can the children draw on her SSI and receive a check also?
This is completely unfair, I have to pay for everything for all these children and she won't even buy them a birthday present. I have to take the kids every other weekend to spend 2 hours with her for visits. And now she is bragging she don't have to pay. I think the law should say no child support, no visits.My ex owes me over $5,000 in child support. I obtained an order from the court last May 2016 for $2900. In October 2016, my ex was approved for Social Security since he claims to have a disability. I received my first disability check in January 2017, which is $1056.
My child support amount is $420. Will the court subtract the $420 from the $1056, and then add the $636 towards the money that is owed from the $5,000?I have two children. I am on SSI disability and my daughter is on SSI disability. I am separated from their father. I am currently filing to receive child support. How much will that effect my SSI disability, how much will that effect my daughter's SSI and will it effect the amount of my son's child support? Thank you for any information.
By Angie B
I started receiving child back support payments because my ex-husband started collecting Social Security. Do I have to report that money on my tax return for 2013?
By Carmen
I live in Oklahoma and receive disability benefits. My child receives benefits from my disability. The amount is over $900.00 per month, or half of my benefit amount. Is it possible for the court to order me to pay more?
By SL
My ex-husband stopped paying his court-ordered child support approximately six months ago. I have made several attempts to reach him, to no avail.
He does not live in the United States anymore, and currently lives in Europe somewhere, but I am unsure of where since he is now remarried to a German woman. He is not in the military, I don't know where he works, and he has never shared his phone number with me or my children. He has not called the kids in more than seven months, and I am guessing that he has no plans to do so in the future.
I am not trying to force him to pay the child support, but merely protect myself and my kids. When we split, we decided on shared custody, 50/50, and now that he can't be found, I am not sure what to do. My fear is that he will reappear and take my kids and I am powerless to do anything about it. If he can't be served because he can't be located, what should my next/first step be in order to attain full custody of my children?
By Amanda
The answer depends on the laws of your state. Have you tried a search using the term 'child custody laws (and the name of your state'? Should be a lot of info there.
It's possible that the attorney who handled your divorce can go back to the court and prove he has effectively abandoned the children-you'll need to provide evidence of non-payment of child support, proof that he has left the USA and entered into a new marriage to a EU citizen and has made no effort to contact the children since (which should presumably prove he has no interest in returning to the US and a relationship with your children).
You'll probably have to also provide proof that you have been diligent about attempting to contact him to encourage a continuing relationship with the children.
There may be other pieces of evidence, but (depending on the laws of your state) your attorney should be able to terminate his parental rights, and arrange for him to be tagged as a potential parental kidnapper.
The children's schools, your state and local police, and possibly the US State Department should be contacted and made aware of the potential parental kidnapper status if you can get your custody order changed to eliminate his rights.
Is he a US citizen? If yes, you may be able to use State Department channels to track him down-consult your attorney.
Make sure YOU apply for and receive US passports for the children NOW to prevent him from using his current parental standing to obtain passports for the children and then use those passports to remove your children from the US.
Good luck. I went through a divorce when my youngest was 16 and only because I'd taken the steps above was I able to prevent my ex from grabbing our son. He did try-he applied for a US passport...luckily my divorce attorney had forewarned me and I'd already got the passport. When the ex applied for a passport for our son he ticked the 'first' passport box which triggered an alarm at the State Department.
My son is now 30-and I raised him. He never saw his father again.
Please update, and let us know how things go for you!
My ex-husband, who is unable to work, started to collect SS 8 yrs ago. He is now 52, since then we receive $457 a month for our son. He wants to try to lower the monthly payment in hopes that his own payment will go up. Can he do that, is it possible?
By DD
If you were awarded child support in a court of law he is obligated to pay the amount until your child is no longer a "child" (usually when they turn 18). If he wants to get the amount lowered he has to go back to court and have the court change his amount.
In my case, when I went on SSD (social security disability) I mentioned to them I had child support payments. Social Security granted a partial payment to my wife. She started getting a check each month from Social Security. The amount I had been assigned from the court was $900 and Social Security paid all but $291.
This became my new responsibility to my wife with regard to child support. Social Security initially wasn't going to pay anything because they didn't know about my obligation, I just happened to mention that child support was going to suck up most of my SSD each month and the SS representative said I might be able to get help. This may be an issue with your ex.
Please help me understand this, okay? My son is 6 years old, his dad has not helped raise him since he was born. He recently got Social Security benefits, and I signed up to be C's payee. The back pay for Social Security went to his father instead of me, I then had his father send it to me. (It was was $218.00 short.) He has a daughter from a previous marriage. He got the same amount for her, but then he went and filed a motion with F.O.C. and got all of his arrears and child support taken away.
Here is my question. Should he have gotten the arrears taken away because I got back pay from Social Security? And should he still have to pay child support? His ex wife went and filed a motion to stop paying him child support because he gets a monthly check for her as well and the judge ordered her to keep paying child support. So how did he get his child support stopped with me for C? I'm so frustrated and need answers. Please help!By Sarah C.
Deal directly with Social Security as they know what the rules are.
What if the father of my two sons is dead and he owned me child support? The boys are 18 and 20. Their father was receiving Social Security when he died. Will I still get the money he owned me?
By Annmarie
Your lawyer will have to answer the question about getting money owed from child support. You may be able to get that from his estate. You should be able to get survivors benefits for your boys through his Social Security benefits. All you have to do there is contact your local Social Security Administration office.
If you do get money from his estate toward back child support owed, it may affect the amount of SS benefits, but again, you would need to check with both your lawyer, and SSA office. Best of luck to you.
Can the state make you pay child support when the child also gets money from my SSA check?
By Robert
You would have the call the Social Security Administration!
