Income from overtime and second jobs; income from contractual agreements; investment and interest income (including dividends); Capital gains, (unless the gain is nonrecurring); Benefits received in place of earned income (i.e. Instead, there are many variables that can affect your benefits status and many procedures that must be followed. Child support is not considered to be income, however, and therefore receiving child support will not affect the amount of your unemployment benefits at all. For lower earning workers, however, the temporary unemployment income may exceed the employment income they were making prior to their job loss. This can threaten the paying parent’s financial well-being and their livelihood. Unemployment benefits = income available for support. For divorcing or divorced parents, it is likely that the parent who claimed the child or children on their 2019 tax returns will obtain the benefit of the $500 payment(s). At the very minimum, pursuant to federal law, the definition of "income" must take into consideration all income and earnings of the non-custodial parent. Because the stimulus payments are considered to be an advance or a prepayment of taxes individuals would owe for 2020, if a child support payor is behind on their child support payments, it is likely that the payor’s stimulus payment will likely be offset and reduced by the amount owed in child support.

These are the workers who are likely to be earning more in unemployment benefits than through their prior employment.

Child support obligations are based on the parents “income.” What constitutes “income,” though, is not always straightforward, especially for people who are not making a regular salary, or who have multiple streams of revenue. A worker with two dependent children earning $200 per week through their employment prior to their layoff would likely receive $750 per week in unemployment benefits ($100 per week benefit rate through Massachusetts’ unemployment, $50 per week from the state for the two dependents, plus the $600 per week from the federal CARES Act). Most individuals who have lost their job or seen a significant reduction in their working hours (making them eligible for unemployment benefits), have seen a decrease in their income despite the robust unemployment package.

About the Author: Carmela M. Miraglia is a Massachusetts divorce lawyer and Cape Cod family law attorney for Lynch & Owens, located in Hingham, Massachusetts and East Sandwich, Massachusetts. Any cash or self-employment income should be reported, as well as any part-time work or temporary work. However, with court closures during the coronavirus pandemic, filing a Complaint for Modification and scheduling a hearing for temporary orders can be a struggle. Vacation pay = income available for support.

Because the mother could not reach the trust, the court held that the "income" was phantom and could not be considered for purposes of child support.


Indeed, the lower a worker’s income was prior to receiving unemployment benefits, the more disproportionately high his or her unemployment benefits will be, thanks to the CARES Act. However, in light of the fact that unemployment compensation is intended to be a benefit only provided for a short-term period and the CARES Act only extends unemployment benefit coverage for an additional 13 weeks, it is unlikely that courts will modify child and spousal support orders on these grounds. Cases in Alaska, Colorado, Montana, and Ohio have held that the interest on an IRA is income for purposes of child support. Unemployment benefits = income available for support. This extra money may have an impact on a non-custodial parent’s child support obligations.

If You Are Ineligible for Benefits The parent should continue to work with the family court and the child's other parent during their unemployment. Does this mean that child support recipients should file their own Complaint for Modification, seeking an increase in child support, if they believe the other parent is receiving extra income through unemployment? Employers pay into state unemployment insurance funds in the names of their employees. If a child support paying parent files a Complaint for Modification seeking a reduction in child support through a Complaint for Modification, recipient parents may consider filing a Counterclaim for Modification seeking a retroactive payment based on the recipient’s temporary increase in income.

At the Law Offices of Kenneth P. Carp, we have helped individuals in the St. Louis and St. Charles areas with not only unemployment issues but also family law and other legal issues that may affect your financial situation during a period of unemployment. The issue becomes even more complicated for support-paying parties who have been laid off but who are now receiving more income with their unemployment benefits than they did while gainfully employed. Even if the recipient files a timely Complaint for Modification, then properly pleads his or her request for a temporary retroactive increase, questions remain about whether judges will order retroactive sums after courts reopen, the CARES program ends, and the funds are spent.

If a person earns any money while on unemployment, she must report it on her weekly claims form to the Department of Labor. Once the additional $600 per week dries up, whatever temporary advantage that unemployment parents received through the program are likely to be quickly forgotten as the grim reality of long-term unemployment takes hold.

Accordingly, child support paying parents who have seen their income decrease have been required to wait anxiously for their chance in court. This address is usually where only one of the parties currently resides. As a result, the stimulus payments would likely be equally divided between parties in community property states if they are received before the parties’ separation. Contact a qualified child support attorney to make sure your rights are protected.
The Law Offices of Kenneth P. Carp are available to take unemployment cases throughout the United States.

The perceived “good times” for such workers will not last. For child support paying parents whose incomes actually increased after the layoff, such a retroactive order could result in a greater child support payment for the recipient. The Department of Labor figures the weekly payment using the person's past year's earnings -- all wages, bonuses, vacation pay and other monetary benefits. Lynch & Owens has adjusted our service delivery model in response to the coronavirus crisis.

case or situation. Firefox, or The email address cannot be subscribed. Each state's child support guidelines contains a definition of "gross income." 1https://dss.mo.gov/child-support/ Accordingly, it appears that the payment should be split or shared in some proportion between the parties and we should be prepared to deal with this issue between the parties. Conversely, cases in New Mexico, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Virginia have held that interest on an IRA is not income for purposes of child support.

The new support amount can only be retroactive to the filing date. However, the CARES Act has created an exception to the penalty such that a taxpayer can now take a distribution of up to $100,000 in 2020 that will not have the ordinary penalties attached to it. Performance & security by Cloudflare, Please complete the security check to access.


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