After lending you money, creditors require that you repay the money at the agreed time. However, most times, borrowers fail to keep up with the agreement thereby given the creditor than to sanction them. The same goes for the federal government. The federal government expects you to make certain compulsory payments like your tax and child support. Failure to abide by these rules could result in sanctions which may come in the form of wage garnishment. That said, can your disability be taken to pay for child support?
Your disability benefits can be garnished by the federal government for child support. This usually happens when you get behind in child support payments. The federal government is the only entity allowed to garnish your social security disability benefits.
Many individuals hate the thoughts of their funds or benefits being taken away from them, without their approval. However, this is usually what happens when such an individual has unpaid balances. Like a typical creditor, the federal government expects citizens to make certain compulsory payments like tax and child support. If peradventure, you are required to make child support payments and you somehow fall behind in payments, your federal government benefit could be garnished. If you are a beneficiary of disability benefits, and you wish to know if it can be garnished to pay for the child support that you owe, this article is for you.
Can a Disability Check Be Garnished?
Can Disability Be Garnished for Child Support?
If a creditor offers you a debt and you fail to pay it back at the intended period, the individual will adopt the necessary legal means to ensure that you pay back what you owe. Aside from increasing your interest rate and slapping you with late payment fees, creditors usually resort to filing lawsuits and requesting a writ of garnishment in the process.
A writ of garnishment grants a creditor the right retain the wages of a debtor. Once your wage is garnished by a creditor, a part of your income will be sent to the individual as payment for your debt.
A creditor cannot garnish all of your income. For instance, your disability benefit and a few other benefits are exempted from garnishment by your creditor. However, they aren’t exempted from garnishment from the federal government.
Can SSDI Be Garnished?
Can SSDI be garnished? This is a question that is common among individuals on disability who find themselves behind on child support. And of course, your Social Security Disability insurance can be garnished but not by creditors, credit card companies, mortgage lenders, or auto financing companies.
This income, which is typically for those struggling with one disability or the other, can only be garnished by the federal government and used to pay the debt you owe to it.
One of those debts is tax, student loans, and child support. That said, you may want to know “Can disability be garnished for child support?” Read on to find out.
Disability Benefits and Child Support?
Disability benefits are designed for individuals who cannot work because of their disability. This benefit helps pay their medical bills and everyday living costs. Disability benefits are a federal program via the Social Security Administration (SSA).
If you make child support payment and start to receive disability benefits, there are some factors and options you need to take note of, like payment garnishment, altering your child support order, and dependent benefits.
In addition, there are some questions you ask, and one of them is “How much of my disability back pay can child support take?”
Can Child Support Be Taken From Disability?
Whether or not your disability benefits payment will be garnished for child support depends on a few factors, one of those factors is the type of benefits you receive. SSDI is usually based on your work background and paid via employment taxes.
If you receive Social Security Disability Insurance as your form of disability benefit and you default on your child support, then these payments may be garnished. The payments can be used to settle past due or existing child support.
Now, answering the question, “how much SSDI back pay can child support take?”: if you get a lump sum back payment from the Social Security Administration, a portion of this payment could be seized and use to settle your child support.
Supplemental Security Income, on the flip side, is a type of disability benefit that is based on financial need, not work background.
These payments are designed to be a simple, subsistence-level type of financial aid, and thus, they cannot be garnished for child support payments under any case.
Having Trouble Paying Child Support When on Disability Payments?
If, peradventure you have an issue paying your child support while on disability, there are a few ways to solve this. First off, you can try to modify your child support order.
To do this, you can argue with the court system in charge of your case, which is usually the state in which the child resides. At your hearing, you’ll need to be able to argue that your condition has affected your finances and made things hard for you. If you can convince the other parent, you can as well negotiate a new agreement on your own. However, ensure you put the agreement in writing to have it officially approved by a judge.
Do Creditors Look at Medical Bills?
What Percentage of SSDI Can Be Garnished for Child Support?
As mentioned earlier, the federal government expects individuals to make the necessary compulsory payments, be it taxes, student loans, or child support. Failure to pay child support, for instance, may result in the garnishment of your SSDI. But what percentage of your SSDI is prone to this penalty?
Failing behind child support payment usually results in the garnishment of up to 50 percent of your SSDI benefits if you are a supporting spouse or child apart from the subject of the court order and up to 60 percent if you aren’t.
As a disabled individual enjoying the benefits of SSDI, the last thing you would want is to lose part of this benefit. The result of that could hit you hard financially. So, always make an effort to pay your child support to prevent this unfortunate occurrence.
