Is Child Support Taken Out of Workers’ Comp Payments?

If you are on or seeking Workers’ Comp benefits, it is important to think about these benefits in the context of the rest of your finances.  The wage-loss benefits you receive are a replacement for your wages, and a lot of the same things that can happen to your wages – like garnishment – might apply to your Workers’ Comp payments, too.

Usually, Pennsylvania law allows Workers’ Comp benefits to be taken to pay for child support payments if you are in arrears when you get your Workers’ Comp settlement.  If you are paying child support and are not in arrears, it is likely you will continue to be able to simply pay that obligation out of your Workers’ Comp.  If you are behind, however, you actually have to tell the court that when settling your claim, and they can then see that the child support lien gets paid off first before you get the rest of your settlement.

For help with Workers’ Compensation claims, call (267) 651-7945 for a free case review with Cardamone Law’s Certified Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Lawyers today.

When Can Courts Take My Workers’ Comp Benefits to Pay for Child Support in Pennsylvania?

If you are paying child support on time and in the full amount and there are no problems with payments or arrears, then the court likely will not be able to touch your Workers’ Comp benefits or settlement awards to pay toward child support.  Instead, you will be trusted to continue to make those payments on time.  Given that Workers’ Comp pays around 2/3 of your previous wage, this might ultimately mean that the reduction in income could allow you a change in your child support obligation amount, and you should consider seeking out help with that aspect of the case.

If you are in arrears when you start getting Workers’ Compensation, the court will actually be able to take money from your settlement and pay it toward the back child support payments.  Because of this, it is vital to discuss this potential issue with your Philadelphia Workers’ Comp lawyers so that we can take it into consideration when negotiating a settlement and determining the best format for your potential settlement, as lump sums and ongoing payments might be affected differently.

To be “in arrears” simply means that you are behind on payments and that there is a sum of money you still owe for child support.  Usually, courts start noticing and taking action on arrears when you are behind by even just 1 month of payments.

How Does the Workers’ Comp Court Know if I Have Back Child Support?

To make it easy on the courts to discover whether Workers’ Comp seekers have arrears on their child support payments or not, the law actually requires the worker to simply tell the court.  23 Pa.C.S. § 4308.1(f) requires a worker who won their Workers’ Compensation claim and got a lump-sum settlement to submit a statement to the court saying either way whether they have child support arrearages or not.  The judge will need to see adequate proof before the award can be entered, which the statute says can come in the form of court documentation or a printout from the Pennsylvania child support enforcement website.

It is important to note that the definitions section of § 4308.1 only applies this to a “monetary award,” which only includes lump sum settlements.  Structured annuity settlements or ongoing benefits would not qualify under this statute to have the arrearages seized.

How the Courts Can Take Your Workers’ Comp Settlement for Child Support Arrears in Pennsylvania

When you enter the required statement showing you do have back child support arrears, the court will put a “lien” on the lump sum award from your Workers’ Comp case.  This will effectively take enough money from the settlement award to pay off your arrears and then give you the rest of the money.

Since this process is applied to lump sum settlements, it will usually mean that, by the time you get the rest of the award, you are caught up on your child support arrears, your children get the money they are entitled to, and you get to keep the rest of the settlement award.

Can Workers’ Comp Wages Be Garnished for Child Support in Pennsylvania?

If you have a wage garnishment order – a.k.a. an “income-withholding order” – in place already and you will be receiving ongoing wage-loss payments, it is likely these will be garnished the same as your paychecks were before your injury.  Your obligation to pay child support is separate from any legal issues regarding your injury case, and that obligation does not stop just because your income is now coming from Workers’ Comp instead of your typical paycheck.  It is important to check with your lawyer for your child support case about how this will be handled.

Additionally, it is possible that a child support garnishment order might be entered after you start receiving Workers’ Comp.  Given that your income might be reduced to 2/3 of your previous income while you are on Workers’ Comp, this could justify recalculating your support obligation based on your new disposable income amount.  It is possible that a wage garnishment order against your Workers’ Comp benefits might be inappropriate or calculated with your old wages, and it is best to go to court to handle any issues related to your income levels as soon as your income changes so you can prevent back payments or arrearages in the first place.

If you are still behind despite a reduced obligation, then it is possible your ongoing benefits will be garnished.

Keep in mind that if you obtain a lump sum settlement, your arrears will likely be taken straight out of that settlement.  This could help catch you up and allow you to draw on the money from the settlement without having to worry about ongoing garnishment going forward, as long as you keep up with the ongoing obligation.

Call Our Workers’ Compensation Lawyers in Pennsylvania Today

For help with your Workers’ Compensation case, call the Reading, PA Workers’ Comp lawyers at Cardamone Law today at (267) 651-7945.