My husband phoned in for family court ( in NY state) today for the umpteenth time and was told the $776 a month the custodial parent gets for their 1 child cannot be counted towards his child support obligation. I do not understand this, if she is collecting this because he cannot work, plus getting monthly child support from his disability check-isnt this 'double dipping?' She wouldnt be getting this if he was still working. Also, they demanded our tax returns and I sent just his W2's from last year because they have no right to include my income-isnt that correct? I made over twice what he did and have no obligation towards this child.
thanks for any advice you can give me

My husband phoned in for family court ( in NY state) today for the umpteenth time and was told the $776 a month the custodial parent gets for their 1 child cannot be counted towards his child support obligation. I do not understand this, if she is collecting this because he cannot work, plus getting monthly child support from his disability check-isnt this 'double dipping?' She wouldnt be getting this if he was still working. Also, they demanded our tax returns and I sent just his W2's from last year because they have no right to include my income-isnt that correct? I made over twice what he did and have no obligation towards this child.
thanks for any advice you can give me

Although I do not agree with it, the reasoning behind the SS issue is that the monies received are for the child's current care and many courts consider that the child's and not the parents. Indiana does the same thing, although the lower courts don't seem to realize it and it generally only happens on appeal.

Sending his W-2 was likely the correct way of doing it. If not they will let know. Is he currently working? If he owes arrears, although it is not usually the best financial way to go, I would start filing married, filing separate if possible so they don't attach the tax check.

With SS at the end of the year you are to figure 1/2 of his disability and add that to your income and if it's over X amount of money then the disability is taxable. If it's not, the disability is not figured in. However if you file a joint return his name will be on it and if it's based only on your income then his ex could get the check.

Has he applied for a modification since his disability?

When you file your taxes, you can file married and jointly. But to avoid getting your refund taken for his obligation you must also file an injured spouse / innocent spouse form. It takes longer to get your refund back because the IRS and your state Department of Revenue will do all the magical math calculations to see who's entitled to what. My husband and I are doing just that because I owe for student loans that I had way before we even met. They took our refund last year because I didn't know about the injured/innocent spouse thing.

My husband is on disability too, and works part time. But since he has been on disability for pretty much his entire life, in his divorce decree it states that the money his girls draw from his SS is his child support and that's it.

I have in the past 2 years filed married jointly and filed the injured spouse form. That is a good idea if there are no assets such as donations or deduction such as a house. Last year the irs took every deduction and allocated to my husbands portion of the income and I what return I was suposed to get now had no deductions. From $800 to $80.00. When I spoke to my layer about this all he had to say was that with deductions I need to file seperatly. I also called the irs about the matter and all they had to say was that although I had the right to claim at least 1/2 of all the deductions, they had every right to take every deduction ( besides the 1 for myself of course) so his return would be greater to pay off any obligation.

podgma2b, as Lizzie pointed out, even by filing an injured spouse the IRS doesn't take only the deductions allotted to the one owing arrears.

OP, if you are low income or qualify for earned income credit on a yearly basis, in order to keep that you have to file jointly but if you don't I still recommend filing separately. If he's not working he would not file. You would need a tax expert to go over all the specifics on it with you guys but I think well worth the money.

My husband phoned in for family court ( in NY state) today for the umpteenth time and was told the $776 a month the custodial parent gets for their 1 child cannot be counted towards his child support obligation. I do not understand this, if she is collecting this because he cannot work, plus getting monthly child support from his disability check-isnt this 'double dipping?' She wouldnt be getting this if he was still working. Also, they demanded our tax returns and I sent just his W2's from last year because they have no right to include my income-isnt that correct? I made over twice what he did and have no obligation towards this child.
thanks for any advice you can give me
What amount is he court ordered to pay for CS? In other words, does the amount the CP recieve from SS exceed the court ordered amount?

Suzy72, yeah I understand all that. Thing is, I have worked all of 2 months in the last 7 years, so I don't have any income really to speak of. We don't own anything either. I'd say we're as poor as dirt, but it seems that dirt has more income than we do lol.