Child support payments, while important, can sometimes feel like a financial burden. This is especially true when you consider the potential for unexpected circumstances such as a physical disability. Today, we want to look at what happens to child support parents when the paying parent becomes disabled and is potentially no longer able to work. This scenario can be a disaster for all involved parties, especially the child depending on the payments for his/her basic needs.

Child Support Payments and Disability Benefits

The short answer is that, when a parent becomes disabled, his/her duty to make child support payments does not go away. In many cases, the disabled parent will be receiving disability benefits, social security benefits, and other forms of benefits. The courts simply tap into this source of income for all future child support payments.

Of course, a person’s financial landscape might vary drastically after a disability, and any benefits received might not be enough to cover the child support payments without unreasonably burderning the other parent. In this case, a modification of child support payments is in order.

Modification of Payments After a Disability

After a parent becomes physically disabled, family law courts are willing to reassess the situation and modify child support payments as needed to ensure that the obligation is fulfilled in a reasonable manner. This applies to both permanent and short-term disability, as the courts can make temporary adjustments until the parent is no longer considered disabled. 

Note that this isn’t always an automatic process. Whether you’re the parent making the payments or the one counting on said payments to provide for the child, you may have to advocate for yourself and make a petition with your local child support enforcement agencies and family law courts.

Learn More By Speaking With A Reputable Family Law Attorney

We hope this post helps answer some basic questions about how child support payments and disability benefits work together in CA. For more specific information pertaining to your needs, don’t forget that we at the White Oak Law are here to help.

Contact us at 925-271-0999 to schedule a consultation with one of our skilled and experienced family law attorneys. Count on the White Oak Law for all your matters involving child support, divorce, and more.