If you have questions about divorce, legal separation, alimony pendente lite, or alimony in Connecticut, please feel free to call the experienced divorce attorneys at Maya Murphy, P.C. in Westport today at 203-221-3100 or email Joseph C. Maya, Esq. at JMaya@Mayalaw.com.

A noncustodial parent who is awarded social security disability income benefits may not deduct that portion of the award which is paid directly to the custodial parent as dependency payments for the supported children.

The marriage of plaintiff and defendant was dissolved on January 7, 2011. By 2015, the defendant had accrued an arrearage in the amount of $17,555.40 outstanding. After applying SSDI payments and left a balance in the amount of $5,393.50. The defendant argued that the direct payments for the children’s dependency benefits should be credited toward her child support payments. In addition, she claimed entitlement to reimbursement of child support payments she made from her SSDI.

On appeal, the court found that SSDI benefits are generally equated to income. While the court declined a definite position on whether such benefits were deductible, they affirmed that SSDI should be equated as income in a court’s determination of support payments. Therefore, until there is a modification the existing support order the noncustodial parent will be required to continue to pay the pre-existing obligation even though a portion of the social security award is being delivered as dependency payments to the custodial parent. The necessary legal recourse in this circumstance is for the parent to move for modification, where the dependency portion of the SSDI benefits will be considered income and deducted for purposes of calculating the new support obligation. Therefore, it is highly recommended that a motion to modify child support be immediately filed upon the filing of an application for SSDI benefits, due to the long delay in processing SSDI application. In doing so, the applicant will be eligible for a retroactive adjustment to cover excess payments made while the application is pending.

For a free consultation, please do not hesitate to call the experienced family law and divorce attorneys at Maya Murphy, P.C. in Westport, CT at 203-221-3100. We may also be reached for inquiries by email at JMaya@mayalaw.com.

Source: 61  CONN. L. RPTR. No. 21, 798'803 (May 9, 2016)