Military personnel who are injured and/or who are forced to retire due to an illness often receive disability benefits from the military upon discharge. While the law protects the disability benefits from many creditors, the law does provide an exception when it comes to child support under the rationale that veterans should support their children. Accordingly, income received from veteran disability benefits will be included in the calculation of child support paid for the veteran’s child/children.
Similarly, federal law also protects a veteran’s disability payments from being attached or garnished by creditors. The notable exception is for unpaid child support when an arrearage/back child support is owed to the child support recipient. However, there are specific limits as to how much can be garnished/attached by the court depending upon the circumstances at issue.
If you have any questions regarding how disability payments impacts either the calculation of child support or the payment thereof, please contact an attorney at Hamblett & Kerrigan.
Kevin P. Rauseo is a former director at Hamblett & Kerrigan P.A. and has since been appointed as a Justice for the New Hampshire Circuit Court. Please feel free to contact another attorney at Hamblett & Kerrigan to discuss your legal issues.