The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically affected all of our lives, both physically, financially, and otherwise. Fortunately, the government has recently provided a $2 trillion stimulus package. One facet of this economic relief is that many individuals qualify for a one-time cash rebate of up to $1,200 per person. This is great news for many people, however, if you are someone who is behind on child support, whether because you recently lost your job in the pandemic or otherwise, you may be wondering if you are entitled to keep this check or not. Please read on and reach out to our Bergen County firm to learn more about how child support arrears may affect your stimulus payment.
Will I be able to keep my stimulus payment if I owe child support?
If you have recently received a $1,200 payment, or you believe you qualify to receive one in the near future, yet you owe child support, you are most likely wondering how this may affect your circumstances. In most cases, if you owe child support, an order entered into the court will demand you to either pay the support directly or to the appropriate probation department. Generally, when someone pays child support through the probation department, the department is in charge of ensuring how much support the person owes, the payments that person makes, and every other aspect of their child support. If the person pays less than the amount owed, child support arrears will accumulate and result in an outstanding judgment.
One of the ways the probation department can handle this is by securing any tax refunds that are due to the payor. Though it is unclear at this point whether they will garnish stimulus money to satisfy child support arrears, there is good reason to believe that they will, especially since these stimulus payments slightly resemble tax refunds.
If you have any additional questions about child support and how the new coronavirus may affect your circumstances, please do not hesitate to speak with our experienced Bergen County family law attorneys today to learn more about how we can help you.
Contact our experienced Bergen County firm
At Townsend, Tomaio & Newmark, our attorneys have extensive experience helping clients to understand and protect their legal rights before, during, and after the divorce process in towns across New Jersey and Bergen County, including Hackensack, Ridgewood, Paramus, Teaneck, and Fort Lee. To speak with our team of divorce lawyers today in a free and confidential consultation regarding your concerns about your divorce, please contact us online, or through our Hackensack, NJ office at (201) 397-1750.
