Child Support and Spousal Support – Court-Ordered and Voluntary 400-19-55-20-15-02

(New 1/1/17 ML #3482)

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Child support and spousal support received by the household is countable unearned income.

EXCEPTIONS:

1. Any support received by the household during the first two prospective months which Child Support Division has credited as a prior months collection is not considered countable income when determining eligibility.
   
   
2. Any support collected for the current month by a Clerk of Court, the Child Support Division, an out-of-state collection system, or other disbursement agency which is received and retained by the household after authorization of the application is subject to recovery by the Child Support Division and is not counted as income.

Child support is counted as the child’s income.

EXCEPTION:

When a household member keeps child support for a child that is not living in the home, the child support is counted as income to the household member that actually received it.

Spousal support is counted as income to the household member for which it is obligated.

 

Federal tax intercept payments are a non-recurring lump sum and are not counted as income. Federal tax intercept payments are not included in ND√erify.

 

State and interstate state tax intercept payments are counted as income as these payments are applied to current support. State tax intercept payments are included in ND√erify.

 

The date the payment is considered received is determined as follows:

• If disbursed via check, the date received is two working days after the date on the check.
  
  
• If direct deposited, the date received is the date the funds were deposited into the bank account as reflected on the bank statement.
  
  
• If deposited onto electronic payment card (EPC), the date received is two working days after the disbursed date in ND√erify.

When an individual is in receipt of TANF, support assigned to the state is not counted as income.

 

If support received or assigned during the first prospective month results in ineligibility, the application must be denied.

After initial TANF eligibility is established and authorized, support payments are normally paid to the Department of Human Services. The automated computer system generates a child support alert that child support has been paid to the Child Support Division.

If support received or assigned during the second prospective month results in ineligibility, the case must be closed effective the last day of the first prospective month. The household shall be advised to notify the Worker if support for the second prospective month is not received by the last workday of the month.

If the household notifies the Worker by the last workday of the month following the effective closing date that support was not received or was received in a lesser amount, the case shall be reverted to open without a new Application and eligibility re-determined based on the new information.

Example:

A case is closed effective June 30 (the last day of the first prospective month) due to anticipated child support. The household must contact the Worker by the last workday of July if support is not received or received in a lesser amount. If reported by the last workday of July, the case must be reverted to open and eligibility re-determined for July, based on the new information.

If the household fails to contact the Worker by the last workday of the month following the effective closing date, a new application is required. The case must be budgeted prospectively for the first two months and benefits are prorated from the date of the application or date of eligibility, whichever is later.

1. Support Received by the Household - support payments received by a household prior to the date the case is authorized must be counted when determining eligibility and the TANF benefit. This income, along with any support that can be anticipated to be received in the initial two months (whether or not it is assigned to the State), must be considered when determining eligibility. If the household is financially eligible, only the support received is counted when determining the TANF benefit.

Note: Any child support received by the TANF recipient on behalf of a benefit cap child or a child subject to Pay After Performance (PAP) requirements is considered unearned income to the household.

Child Support Division defines the collection month of a support payment as the date on which the payment is received by the Child Support Division. Any support received by the household during the first two prospective months which Child Support Division has credited as a prior months collection is not considered countable income when determining eligibility. For that reason, special care should be taken to identify the collection month on any support received early in either of the initial months.

Any support collected for the current month by a Clerk of Court, the State Disbursement Unit, an out-of-state collection system, or other disbursement agency which is received and retained by the household after authorization of the application is subject to recovery by the Child Support Division. If the Worker becomes aware the family has received support, the family should be advised that the support must be turned over to Child Support Division and the Worker should notify the Child Support Division of the specific situation. Retention of assigned support by the household and a failure to turn over such payments may be referred to the appropriate authority for investigation for welfare fraud. Any retained support should be considered as support assigned.

 

Voluntary or court ordered support received directly from a responsible or legally responsible obligor after the case is authorized and is retained by the family is treated as a cash contribution, is unearned income, and will be deducted dollar for dollar from the TANF benefit. The Worker is responsible for establishing overpayments if this type of unearned income occurs.

 

A responsible person is someone who is not yet subject to a court order or someone who has not been legally adjudicated as the father of the child. A legally responsible obligor is someone who is subject to a court order for support.

 

After the initial two months of eligibility, any support received by the household which is intended for a month in which the family was not in receipt of TANF benefits is treated as a cash contribution. Cash contributions are considered unearned income and deducted dollar for dollar from the TANF benefit.

2. Extra Support Received by Household - Extra support received by a TANF recipient is deducted dollar for dollar from the TANF benefit. Extra money is support received by the Child Support Division, which exceeds the total unreimbursed public assistance.
   
   
3. Support Retained Offset - Federal law governs the distribution of support payments.
   
   For a family who is receiving a TANF cash benefit, all support collected that does not exceed the monthly obligated amount for all months the family received TANF must be retained and applied against any UPA. Current support collected which exceeds the total of all the monthly obligated amounts for all months the family received TANF is paid to the family.

Example:

A family has $100 child support owing for the months of January and February, while in receipt of TANF. The family continues to be eligible for TANF and the absent parent pays $500 support in March. The total UPA for January, February and March is $250. The state retains $250 of the $300 owed for January, February and March and pays $50 to the family. The remaining $200 is also paid to the family.