Q: Can child support continue to garnish SSI after daughter's graduation if arrears are owed?
I need help with child support garnishment from my SSI. My child support was supposed to end on March 2, 2025, or when my daughter graduates, which will be in May 2025. The child support office is still garnishing my SSI checks. I understand that payments are needed until she graduates, but I want to know if they can legally continue to garnish my checks after her graduation if I still owe arrears. I’ve contacted the child support office, but I haven’t received a clear response. I received a letter stating the child support ended as of March 2, 2025, with an amount still owed in arrears. The letter doesn’t explain what I should do if I disagree with the continued garnishment. What can I do about this situation?
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A:
It’s understandable that you're concerned about the ongoing garnishment from your SSI checks after your daughter’s graduation. Generally, child support obligations continue even after the child turns 18 if there are arrears to be paid. If your child support order specifies that payments continue until the arrears are fully paid, then the garnishment could remain in place until the debt is settled.
If you’ve received a letter stating that child support is supposed to end on March 2, 2025, and your daughter graduates in May, it may be that the payment structure is based on the arrears. This means that even after your daughter graduates, they may continue to garnish your SSI to cover what’s owed. It's important to review the specifics of the letter you received to check if it mentions this point.
To address the situation, it would be wise to follow up directly with the child support office again, making sure to ask for a clear explanation regarding the arrears and whether they will continue garnishing after your daughter's graduation. If needed, consider requesting a formal review of your case to ensure everything is correctly processed.
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