Is a disabled non-custodial parent with the duty to pay child support entitled to a credit for Social Security paid “to” the child due to the disability of that non-custodial parent? Yes in Missouri.
In Wallace v. Wallace, the court of appeals dealt with a situation where mother had residential custody and the disabled father owed child support. Their minor child received Social Security due to the father’s disability. The court ruled that the Social Security disability paid to the child should be credited against the amount of child support owed by the father. 269 S.W.3d at 479-81, headnote 4 (Mo. Ct. App. E.D. 2008). In so ruling, the court of appeals followed the earlier Missouri Supreme Court decision in Weaks v. Weaks, 821 S.W.2d 503, 506 (1991).
So, the child’s Social Security disability received due to disability of the non-custodial parent reduces the non-custodial parent’s child support obligation.
However, this credit does not apply if the Social Security is paid to the child due to the custodial parent’s disability. (See Adams v. Adams, 108 S.W.3d 821, 830 (Mo. Ct. App. W.D. 2003)
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