Removes disability benefits as a source of income for purposes of child support calculations

BILL NUMBER:A11153

Title of bill

An act to amend the family court act and the domestic relations law, in relation to removing disability benefits as a source of income for purposes of reducing a parent's child support calculations

Purpose or general idea of bill

This bill will reduce child support payments by deducting disability benefits as income,

Summary of specific provisions

Section 1 amends clause (iii) of subparagraph 5 of paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section 413 of the family court act by adding a section (I); Section 3 amends paragraph of by adding a new subparagraph 8; Section 4 subparagraph 1 of paragraph (b) of 1-b of section 240 is amended;

Section 2 clause (iii) of subparagraph 5 of paragraph (b) of subdivision 51-b of section 240 of the domestic relations law, as added by Chapter 567 of the laws of 1989, is amended.

Justification

New York State is one, of just a few states in the nation that considers disability benefits as income when it comes to determin- ing the amount of child support the noncustodial parent is required to pay. But disability income, unlike Social Security benefits, is means- tested income provided to people with disabilities as a way, to supple- ment Social Security income. SSI is provided to insure disabled individ- uals have a minimum level of income needed for subsistence.

This bill would add New York State to the majority of States that recog- nizes the purpose of SSI and do not consider it income. It is unfair to include SSI in the formula used for determining the amount a non-custo- dial parent should pay in child support because unlike Social Security. benefits, SSI eligibility requires disability and applicants cannot have more than $2,000 in financial resources. Another difference from Social Security that makes the current law unfair is the fact that the SSI program does not provide a benefit for the dependents of the SSI recipi- ent, unless the dependents themselves independently meet the SSI eligi- bility criteria.

Prior legislative history

None

Fiscal implications

None

Effective date

This act will take effect immediately.