Undergoing a divorce may take a great financial toll on you. This is between having to pay for attorney fees and court fees, and not to mention having to split all your marital assets. So the last thing that you may want is for your Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits to also take a hit. Continue reading to learn how your divorce might impact your benefits and how one of the experienced attorneys in SSDI eligibility in New Jersey, at The Law Offices of Sheryl Gandel Mazur, can work to ensure that you are protected.
How does my divorce impact my SSDI benefits?
For starters, you must understand that SSDI benefits are not considered need-based payments. Rather, the amount of monthly payments you receive is strictly based on your personal work history. This means that these payments do not fluctuate when you undergo significant life changes, such as gaining income, losing assets, and namely, getting a divorce. Therefore, your SSDI benefits may not be affected by your divorce proceedings. However, the New Jersey family court may consider your monthly SSDI payments as a source of income. So, your SSDI benefits may impact its calculations of spousal support and child support.
And say, for instance, that you also qualify for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) in addition to SSDI benefits. Well, since SSI is a need-based program, your payments may alter upon the finalization of your divorce. This may depend heavily on the court’s decisions on the division of property, spousal support payments, and other divorce-related terms.
What actions can I take to protect my SSDI benefits?
To reiterate, it is unlikely that your SSDI benefits will be impacted by your divorce. But the only way this may occur is if you fall behind on your spousal support order or child support order. In a case such as this, a New Jersey family court may order your SSDI benefits to be garnished. That said, it is always wise to abide by the court’s initial orders. However, it is worth mentioning that SSI payments cannot be garnished for spousal support or child support.
Secondly, if you placed your monthly SSDI payments into a joint bank account shared by your former spouse, then the court may consider these funds as a marital asset. Hence, the court may divide these funds in a way they consider to be fair and just. For this reason, it may be in your best interest to establish a separate bank account that exclusively holds your monthly SSDI benefits.
At the end of the day, you must not wait too long before retaining the services of a skilled New Jersey SSDI eligibility attorney. So please call The Law Offices of Sheryl Gandel Mazur at your earliest possible convenience.
