Disabled Veterans & Child Support in California
Both parents should learn whether benefits for disabled veterans and their child dependents can affect their child support order. California law allows disabled veterans to receive credit toward monthly child support for Veterans Affairs payments made to their dependents.
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California Child Support Laws
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Under California law, the state family courts and local child-support agencies use a state formula to calculate the amount of support paid by one parent to the other parent. The custodial parent or local child-support agency can open a family court case and obtain an order requiring the other parent to make payments for the child's support.
Credit for Veteran Disability Benefits
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Under California Family Code Section 4504, a noncustodial parent who receives veteran's disability payments from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs should notify the parent receiving child support. The custodial parent or local child support agency must contact the federal agency to determine whether the veteran's dependent child has eligibility for payments. If the child receives benefits from Veterans Affairs, or is eligible for benefits but the custodial parent refuses to apply for or accept those payments, the local child support agency must credit the amount of those payments toward any child support amount required by family court order. However, the federal benefits amount will not be further credited toward monthly child support if the California family court already included those benefits when applying the child-support formula.
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Comparison With Civilian Disability Benefits
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According to the California Alliance for Families and Children, child dependents of disabled civilians receive higher monthly payments from the Social Security Administration than child dependents of disabled veterans receive through Veterans Affairs. The alliance advocates for legislative change to increase the benefits available to children of disabled veterans.
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References
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- Photo Credit veteran image by araraadt from Fotolia.com
