The outbreak of the Coronavirus has brought a day-to-day lifestyle change to all residents of New Jersey. Stay-at-home orders and non-essential businesses closures have led the government to provide a $2 trillion stimulus package in an effort to assist those in need during this time. While this can be of great help to many, it also raises many questions about what happens to these payments in situations where families are separated by divorce. Continue reading to learn more about how the payment may impact child support arrears.
Will Stimulus Payments be Seized for Child Support Payments?
Many people and families are receiving a one time payment of either $1200 for individuals, $2400 for married couples, and $500 for children. Many families are wondering what this means for child support. Generally, when child support is owed, it is done by an order entered into the court. This directs the support to either be paid directly from one party to the other or by the appropriate probation department. When support is payable through the probation department, it is responsible for collecting the payments and tracking what is due or received. When the amount paid is less than the amount that is due, child support arrears accumulate and are reported as an outstanding judgement.
When child support payments are outstanding, the probation department has a variety of ways that they can secure the collection. One of which is to seize tax refunds that are due to the payor. As the recently passed stimulus package bears similarities to tax refunds, many believe that these funds will most likely be garnished or seized to satisfy child support arrears just as tax refunds would be. However, due to the fact that the stimulus payments are unprecedented, there is no way to know for sure if the probation department or the IRS will require child support arrears to be paid with these funds.
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If you need an experienced legal team to guide you through your divorce, contact Townsend, Tomaio & Newmark L.L.C today.
