# Garnishing Veteran Benefits for Child Support

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- Published: 2024-05-06T14:23:34+00:00
- Author: MsRockMon

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January 30, 2018  

 

Kenya N. Rahmaan

 

Veterans of the United States Armed Forces are people who should be celebrated and
supported to show appreciation for their time in service.  Unfortunately, that is
not the reality for our soldiers as they return home and must often fight many non-
combat battles.  Homelessness, mental health issues, and unemployment often plague
veterans transitioning from military to civilian life.  Along with these difficulties
of adjustments are debt-related problems such as spousal and child support obligations.
Based on federal law, states should not garnish veterans\’ disability compensation,
but, regrettably, this law is not always honored in veteran child support cases.

 

According to the American Bar Association or A.B.A. (2011), under U.S.C. §5301 (
a) (1), benefits paid by the Department of Veterans Affairs (V.A.) are not subject
to levy, seizure, or attachment. Since child support money is deducted through an
order of garnishment, V.A. benefits should be excluded from such collections. Child
support agencies do not uniformly exclude these benefits from considering these 
benefits as income or garnishing the payments when child support is concerned.  
We, as Americans, see again that specific rules and laws apply to certain individuals
and in certain situations.  These rules and regulations seem to be utilized by officials
more when they benefit people needing less protection and less when more vulnerable
people need them the most.

 

Laws should always protect veteran benefits, and people in charge ought not to select
some out of convenience for those that the government deems worthy.  One key reason
the government can garnish veterans\’ benefits is that government officials decided
that \’family\’ support and \’child\’ support mean precisely the same thing as far
as deductions are concerned.   Even though a veteran\’s disability benefits compensate
the veteran, certain courts have forced the vet to satisfy debts accrued due to 
family obligations.   A veteran can be held in contempt of court and jailed if they
fail to pay support, even if their disability is proven to be their only form of
income.   This disservice happens because somewhere down the line, someone decided
that disability compensation somehow belongs to other people instead of the person
that sacrificed life for our country.

 

According to the A.B.A. (2011), in the case of Rose v. Rose (1981), the Supreme 
Court held that neither the Veteran\’s Benefits provision of Title 38 nor the garnishment
provisions of The Child Support Enforcement Act of Title 42 indicate unequivocally
that a veteran\’s disability benefits are provided solely for the veteran\’s support
seem worthy of protection.   Like others, the Supreme Court ruling crosses a fragile
line as to who is entitled to a veterans\’ benefits after that individual suffered
an injury during duty.   Disability compensation, as defined by the U.S. Department
of Veterans Affairs, is a tax-free monetary benefit paid to veterans with disabilities
resulting from disease or injury incurred or aggravated during active military service.

 

That should mean that the government has declared disability money as payment for
the sole purpose of providing for the veteran\’s needs because they cannot provide
for themselves.   If there is a need for the veteran\’s offspring, the government
should pay money separately to care for children.  The government has already implemented
a similar system within the Social Security Administration.  Based on the legal 
definition, there is no mention of the government requiring a veteran to share the
compensation payment with any other family member, nor is there a mention of who
may be entitled to receive money from the disability payment. 

 

The seizing of money paid to compensate a person for pain and suffering should not
be available for garnishment or offset to satisfy a debt.   Another underhanded 
manner in which the federal government can garnish allegedly exempt veteran compensation
is by invoking a clause listed in Section §3.750-1, the Retired Military section
of the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.).   Military retired pay is payment received
by a veteran that is classified as retired by the Service Department.   The Federal
government includes many areas under this umbrella of employers, including the Armed
Forces and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.   Still, the same
rules apply when garnishments or deductions are attached to payments.

 

A veteran can receive the retirement money and disability compensation concurrently
and in full in certain situations.  According to Cornell University (2009), a veteran
entitled to military retired pay, and disability compensation for a service-connected
disability rated 50% or more, or has a combination of service-connected disabilities,
is entitled to receive both payments.   This entitlement is subject to phase-in 
periods.   The phase-in period is a 10-year period in which the government increased
military retirement pay by 10% each year until the recipient began receiving full
military retirement pay (Ryan Guina, 2014).   

 

A veteran may be awarded both forms of payment after 20 years of service and in 
compliance with Chapter 61 of Title 10 of the U.S. Code.   Veterans receiving both
retirement pay and disability compensation must file a waiver to receive full benefits
in all other situations.   As explained by the Department of Veterans Affairs (2009),
this waiver is required if the veteran\’s disability retired pay exceeds the amount
of retired pay that the veteran would have received based on the length of service.
The waived money is subject to garnishment.   While it is somewhat true that the
money is, and should be, considered disability compensation, the money in question
has raised serious doubts as to its actual exemption status.

 

State governments should consider disability money as what it is, disability money.
And that disability was a result of an injury or disease sustained during military
service.   This money should not be considered retirement money.   Under this premise,
these benefits are specifically exempt by federal law of child support withholdings(
Bureau of Fiscal Services, 2005).   The federal government has even found a way 
to ignore this law and garnish these protected benefits.

Several cases over the years contradict the federal law and have granted garnishment
orders against a veteran\’s supposedly protected income.   According to the A.B.
A. (2011), child support may be awarded based on disability payments to either parent
being considered as income.   There are no mentions of retirement waivers or phase-
in periods.   Even though the federal law prohibits veteran disability money from
being touched, veterans still have their money withheld. One reason provided by 
the court system is that federal law does not prohibit treating child support obligor\’
s veteran administration disability benefits as income under support guidelines (
A.B.A., 2011).

 

Again, the federal statute clearly states that child support withholdings are exempt
from child support deductions.   The statutory exemption, 38 U.S.C. § 5301(a), was
not considered when the Supreme Court held that a father had to pay child support
from his disability compensation.   The justification provided by the U.S. Supreme
Court was that the benefits were intended to support not only the veteran but also
the veteran\’s family (A.B.A., 2011).   It seems that laws apply to some but not
when it applies to the state and federal governments and how officials collect money
from citizens.

 

It isn\’t very respectful that one government agency exempts a particular form of
income from offsets.   In contrast, another agency bypasses the statute to steal
money from our wounded veterans.   Many veterans rely on their disability compensation
as their only source of income.   The lack of other sources of income does not deter
the judges from attaching garnishment orders to that money. Again, in the case of
Rose vs. Rose, officials altered the law to abide by the statute set for garnishing
disability benefits.   

 

The Montana Supreme Court ruled that none of the garnishment provisions of The Child
Support Act of Title 42 preempt the authority of state courts to enforce a child
support order against a veteran (A.B.A., 2011).   This ruling directly violated 
the garnishment rule mandated by 38 U.S.C.    Furthermore, the court ruled that 
the child support can be enforced even where the veteran\’s income is composed of
V.A. disability benefits (A.B.A., 2011).   This money is supposed to provide disabled
veterans some financial stability as they battle life after service. Legislators
did not design payments to be returned to the federal government as free money. 

 

Homeless veterans face a more difficult time when dealing with child support issues.
These vets receive some assistance with child support and other problems by organizations
offering Stand Down Events.   Several organizations host these events, and several
resources are provided to these bravest Americans.  One of the most important of
these resources, along with health screening, food, and shelter, is the legal counseling
provided to homeless vets.

 

Counselors cover child support issues during these sessions. According to the Administration
for Children & Families or A.C.F. (2012), about half of the states have more than
10,000 veterans in their child support caseload. The government is permitted to 
garnish the compensation money could mean the difference between having a home and
becoming or remaining homeless.  Veterans face an array of barriers in addition 
to those faced by non-veteran non-custodial parents. In addition to the difficulty
of finding employment and earning low incomes, veterans are older than other parents,
they are more likely to have an interstate case, and they are more likely to have
higher child support arrears (A.C.F., 2012).

 

When dealing with arrears, most of the money owed consists of interest, late fees,
penalties, and court fees.  If the disability money is garnished, as with any payment
received for child support, the state will deduct its money before disbursing any
money to the families.  The garnished money could and should be used by disabled
veterans and their children.  The states have no right to disobey the federal law
and garnish untouchable money and, second, retain the money so that no family member
benefits from the garnishment.   There is very little happening to help our heroes
deal with the child support obligations when they cannot afford the payments.   

 

The three-day Stand Down events may help temporarily, but there is no information
detailing these events\’ long-term success or failures.   Counties boast about distributing
pamphlets to parents or reviewing case files, but few remedies are available to 
assist veteran parents in digging themselves out of their deep financial graves.
Child support obligations not only hurt financially, but they can harm one\’s mental
well-being    Child support debt can also be a psychological barrier to re-establishing
family relationships (A.C.F., 2012).   Coupled with other mental illnesses often
suffered by veterans, such as post-traumatic stress disorder or depression, the 
results are bound to be disastrous.   

 

The government must be held accountable for disobeying its laws.   Taking money 
paid to compensate injuries suffered under the threat of death to satisfy an often
excessive debt is akin to stealing benefits from 9/11 survivors to cover the debt
accrued after they responded to the terrorist attack.   Veterans deserve every medal,
every honor, and every dollar earned during their commitment to our country.   If
more money is needed to support the children of veterans, the federal government
should provide that money.  The federal government has already declared this money
exempt from liens, seizures, and attachments, so states should not be permitted 
to loophole themselves into the bank accounts of our disabled veterans.

 

As this country fights for reform to the child support system, we must consider 
our brave women and men who were promised, by this government, compensation if injured
during service to the country.  The U.S. must restore that promise, and it must 
start by enforcing the statutory exemption 38 U.S.C.   Until we force a change in
child support guidelines, we must force the government to, at least, abide by already
established laws.   It is time to start treating our veterans, disabled, and otherwise,
with respect they truly deserve when returning home.

 

References:

 

_Administration for Children & Families. (2012, November). Child support participation
in stand-down events | Office of child support enforcement | Administration for 
children and families. Retrieved from _

_American Bar Association. (2011, September). Fact sheet-V.A. payments and family
support. Retrieved from http://www.americanbar.org/…/201109\_flmc\_vapayments.pdf_

_Bureau of Fiscal Services. (2005, March). Treasury offset program. Retrieved from
https://www.fms.treas.gov/…/dmexmpt.pdf_

_Concurrent receipt rules – Concurrent retirement disability pay (CRDP). (2014, 
March 4). Retrieved from http://themilitarywallet.com/concurrent-receipt-military-
retirement-pay/_

_Cornell University Law School. (2009, April 5). 38 CFR 3.750 – Entitlement to concurrent
receipt of military retired pay and disability compensation. | LII / Legal Information
Institute. Retrieved from http://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/38/3.750_

_U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. (n.d.). Compensation home. Retrieved from 
http://www.benefits.va.gov/compensation/_