Will your spouse’s back child support affect you?

Each family is unique, and in many households, one or both spouses have children from a previous relationship. In many marriages, a spouse may have child support obligations to another party. Some Missouri couples report frustration with the stimulus payments that were recently issued by the federal government because if one spouse owes back child support, the other spouse may not get a payment either.

The stimulus checks have a stipulation that states that the payment will be applied to back any child support balance if a person is in arrears. The back balance clause kicks in at a certain amount which varies by state, but in Missouri, a person must only be behind by $500 before the stimulus is affected. Some residents feel that the guidelines are unclear, and express concern that they do not know if they should expect a stimulus payment or not.

One woman reports that her husband, who is currently unable to work due to shutdown, owes another party back child support. His stimulus payment was redirected to cover the back payments, but the woman’s was as well. She states that she understands that since they are married, this makes some sense, but she feels that she should have at least received a payment for the biological child the couple had together.

Experts say that there are avenues of possible recourse for this sort of situation, but it can be difficult to get answers and direction because many government offices remain closed. Fortunately, a knowledgeable attorney might be able to help, and can meet with a client virtually to get the ball rolling amid shutdowns and social distancing guidelines. An attorney can assist a client with various issues related to child support payments, and see what can be done to provide financial relief to families with unique situations to help ensure parents get the money they need to take care of their children on a day to day basis.