Relating to the treatment of veteran disability dependent benefits in the determination of a child support obligation

This bill relates to the treatment of veteran disability dependent benefits in determining a child support obligation. benefits shall be treated in the same manner as social security dependent (SSD) benefits are treated under current law. Under current law, if a child receives SSD benefits as the result of a parent’s disability, the payment amount is to be included as income to the parent when calculating the amount of child support. After calculating the amount of child support, if the disabled parent is the obligor, the obligor’s support obligation is then to be credited, dollar-for-dollar, in the amount of the SSD payment made to the dependent, with any remaining obligation amount to be paid by the obligor. Unless the court otherwise provides, dependent benefits paid to the child support obligee as a result of disability benefits awarded to the child support obligor fully satisfy and substitute for the support obligations for the same period of time for which the benefits are awarded, until such time as the child support order is modified. The bill also makes conforming changes including those in Code chapter 252H (adjustment and modification of support orders) to allow the child support recovery unit (CSRU) to include a determination of arrearages in veteran disability-related modification orders, as is the case with SSD-related modification orders, to provide a way for a parent and CSRU to determine if any arrearages are due to the change in the law.