Florida Statute 61.30(1) creates the presumptive amount of child support that an obligor should pay, dependent on the timesharing schedule, incomes of the parties, health insurance expenses, and other factors.
In the event a parent is disabled and receives SSDI payments from the government, that income is specifically includable in their gross monthly income pursuant to 61.30(2)(a)(4+8). Often, when a parent receives SSDI, the child will also receive separate Social Security income as a result, which should be deducted from the disabled parent’s child support obligation. See: Sealander v. Sealander, 789 So.2d 401 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001). If the child’s benefits are greater than the child support obligation, then the disabled parent is under no obligation to pay child support. If the benefits do not match the child support obligation, the disabled parent must pay the difference. Valladares v. Junco-Valladares, 30 So.3d 519 (Fla. 3rd DCA 2010).
If you have a child support case in which SSDI benefits are received by either party, be sure to contact a competent family law attorney to ensure the guideline calculation is done correctly.