Personal Injury Lawyers in Tampa can answer questions regarding how a settlement may affect child support payments and arrears. The person who wants to acquire compensation for an injury may wonder just how much of that money he or she will actually receive if the child support agency can garnish some of it.
This issue can be very complicated. For instance, a child support agency may intercept the settlement and garnish any amount owed for back payments, or a certain percentage of the amount owed. However, this does not always happen. It may depend on whether the parent is cooperating by attempting to make up those arrears with regular payments. The injured person is likely to have mixed emotions about this situation. On one hand, it would be advantageous to get the arrears cleared up. On the other hand, the settlement is intended to pay for aspects such as medical bills and lost wages. The injured person may very well need that money, especially if there wasn’t much in savings to begin with and going back to work is not yet an option.
Even if the parent doesn’t owe back payments, this person may worry that child support payments will increase because technically there was an increase in the annual income. However, the court may subtract specific expenses paid through the settlement before determining the individual’s actual income for the year. There is also the matter of whether or not this person is expected to be able to return to work. If the divorced person pays spousal support, that regular payment will not be affected by an injury settlement.
Personal Injury Lawyers in Tampa are ready to help someone caught in this conundrum. They may be able to obtain a better settlement, for example, which would not only clear up the problem of back child support payments but allow the individual to catch up on outstanding bills. Lawyers at a firm such as Winters & Yonker have expertise not only in the area of injury law but in family law as well, so they can help clients dealing with this complex issue. Visit our website for further information.
