Does Child Support Come Out of Workers’ Comp Pay in Massachusetts?

While Workers’ Compensation benefits can help injured employees when they are too hurt to continue working, these benefits are not exempt from other financial obligations. If you owe past-due child support payments, that money could possibly be taken out of your Workers’ Compensation benefits. However, there are ways an attorney can help you handle these obligations so you can maintain financial stability.

Depending on how you receive Workers’ Compensation benefits, past-due child support might be taken out of your benefits before they reach you. This can put injured employees in precarious financial positions. While past-due child support must be taken care of, many are not in a position to pay it all off at once. Remember, Workers’ Compensation may be legally classified as income, but it is often less than the income recipients earned prior to becoming injured. You might adjust your child support obligations due to the change in your employment and financial position. Your lawyer might also advise you on how to arrange for Workers’ Compensation benefits, as periodic payments might not be subject to something like a lien.

Get an initial free review of your case from our Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation lawyers by calling the Law Office of John J. Sheehan at (617) 925-6407.

How Child Support Might Affect Your Workers’ Compensation Payments in Massachusetts

An accident at work might leave you unable to continue working and earning an income. However, your bills and other financial obligations do not disappear. You are still obligated to pay child support. Being approved for Workers’ Compensation benefits does not change your obligation to pay child support. This means that while compensation is meant to help you stay afloat while you cannot work, it might have to be used to pay things like child support.

Since Workers’ Compensation benefits are legally considered part of your income, they may be taken into consideration in matters regarding child support. According to Mass. Gen. Laws Ch. 152 § 46A, if an injured employee owed past-due child support, it may be subject to a lien. This would allow the person to whom child support is owed to file a claim for past-due support to be taken out of a Workers’ Compensation award. However, you might have options regarding how you receive benefits, and our Amesbury, MA Workers’ Compensation lawyers may help you figure out how you can receive benefits without dealing with a lien or some other legal action against you.

If you receive non-periodic benefit payments (e.g., a lump sum payment), then your past-due child support could be taken from that payment before it gets to you. While this means your child support obligations are covered, you will receive less compensation than you were anticipating. This may apply to nonperiodic payments, such as one-time lump sum payments. Payments that occur periodically, like weekly payments, might not be affected in the same way. Even so, you must still keep up with child support payments while receiving weekly Workers’ Compensation benefits.

Changing Your Child Support Payments While Receiving Workers’ Comp Pay in Massachusetts

If you are receiving Workers’ Compensation but still have to keep up with child support payments, you are not without legal recourse. In certain circumstances, you can alter your support obligations to be more affordable. This is something normally done through the family court system, not the Workers’ Compensation system.

While Workers’ Compensation can be a big help to injured employees, recipients often do not receive all the income and wages they lose because they cannot work. Instead, Workers’ Compensation typically covers only a portion of lost wages. This means that while you are receiving Workers’ Compensation benefits, you are likely earning less money. Changes in your financial situation may be grounds to have support obligations changed. However, there are strict rules regarding when and how these kinds of changes can be made.

If there is a significant change in your financial situation and you want to reduce your child support payment obligations, the change should not be of your own choice. For example, if you were injured and can no longer work and earn a living, you may have a good reason to reduce child support payments. However, if you willingly quit your job and have no other job lined up after, you likely cannot reduce your child support payments. The same logic may apply if you are seeking to reduce child support payments because you are receiving less income through Workers’ Compensation.

Can You Shield Workers’ Comp Pay From Child Support Obligations in Massachusetts?

If you know you have past-due child support payments, you might change the way you wish to accept Workers’ Compensation benefits. A lien may apply to nonperiodic payments, which often consist of one-time lump sum payments of Workers’ Compensation benefits. This money could be intercepted, as described above, and you might receive a lot less money than you first thought.

First, you should talk to your attorney about child support and past-due payments before you accept any settlement through Workers’ Compensation. Remember, even if you can prevent your benefits from being intercepted or subjected to a lien, that does not mean you do not have to pay child support.

You might instead decide to accept Workers’ Compensation benefits as periodic, weekly payments. Benefits paid this way might not be subject to a lien in the same way. You might be able to accept the full amount of your Workers’ Compensation benefits while dealing with past-due child support payments independently and without interference from the courts or legal system.

However, this might not be possible in every case. Some benefits are awarded only as nonperiodic, lump sum payments. For example, benefits paid for specific kinds of injuries or disfigurements are often paid as a lump sum. If you experienced scarring, disfigurement, or dismemberment that entitles you to additional compensation, it might be subject to a lien for your unpaid child support. Your attorney can help you decide how to proceed in a way that is best for you and your financial situation.

Contact Our Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Attorneys for Legal Assistance

Get an initial free evaluation of your case from our Arlington, MA Workers’ Compensation attorneys by calling the Law Office of John J. Sheehan at (617) 925-6407.