Child Support and State Assistance

My question involves child support in the State of: Minnesota (Dakota County)

Hello,

My ex has majority parenting time, we share legal custody. My ex has been on public assistance since my son was 3 (he is now 11). In 2010 she was told her 60 months would begin. In MN the MFIP program is supposed to be a maximum of 60 months so her benefits should soon be coming to an end. However; the last time we were in court for a change in child support due to my increased income, my ex mentioned that she is medically exempt from looking for work (this past December 2014).

I am frustrated with this as she always seems to find loop-hole to continue her benefits even though there have been many times when her benefits have been suspended because she is not doing what is required of her. Additionally the frustration sets in knowing that she is physically and mentally capable of working and yet she is not, thus creating a higher child support payment from me as her potential income is not considered due to the benefits.

It seems it is impossible for me to find any information on how long she can continue public assistance programs, what her medical exemption is, and why she isn't being made to apply for disability payments if she is truly unable to work. I feel I am being penalized because of her claims not be able to work. What can I do?

Thank-you!

Nobody can force her to apply for disability, and in all honesty there's a drop-off to begin with; you can be unable to work and still not manage to qualify under the SSA's criteria. So not applying, or being disapproved, doesn't necessarily mean she's able to hold down a full time job.

Did you actually requested that she be imputed a wage? Did you counter her claim that she was unable to work?

We were told that her potential income must be zero because she is receiving benefits by the county representative. She has worked in the last couple of years for a very short time for her cousin's construction company but was let go because she has a problem with punctuality and no one seems to care when this was brought up. She was making $24 / hr.

We are unsure how to counter the claim of her being unable to work. We never know in advance and it is hard to know exactly how to prepare for it as we are not allowed access to her benefits case. Her claim is she can not work due to major depression (from what we gather).

"We"?

Who is "we"?

Your attorney?

Sorry, "we" is referring to my partner and I.

Hopefully at some point the "we" will include an attorney. :)

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Quoting Dogmatique

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Nobody can force her to apply for disability, and in all honesty there's a drop-off to begin with; you can be unable to work and still not manage to qualify under the SSA's criteria. So not applying, or being disapproved, doesn't necessarily mean she's able to hold down a full time job.

Did you actually requested that she be imputed a wage? Did you counter her claim that she was unable to work?

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So if I gather what you are saying, she can continue to sit on assistance, not be forced to look for work, or apply to see if she even qualifies for disability, correct? Who determines if she is truly unable to work then? Is she required to see a Dr. that the county trusts? Or can she walk into her social worker's office with any old letter from a therapist? If that is the case, even I could create one of those. If she truly can't work, fine. I love my son, I have fought multiple times to gain custody of him. Dakota County is biased to the mothers. CPS was involved and explained to me it is their job to keep the family unit intact, even with her continued cocaine usage. (My UA's were all clean, in case you are wondering.) My son is failing every class, he has 19.5 combined tardy and absences this past school year.

And now he can express what he wants and that is to stay at mom's where he is more comfortable. He knows I would structure his life and hold him accountable and he doesn't want that. I am truly afraid my son is going to be lost in the system and just end up another statistic.

I have 4 other children by one other woman who are all thriving. I co-parent with their mother very well. I pay my support for all 5 of my kids. I know they are my responsibility too and I will continue to suffer financially until they are grown. I just want my son's mother to do her share... or just do something. If I could afford an attorney I would have hired one long ago. I simply cannot. I file my own motions or go along with the CPS motions when they get involved. I make it to every appointment and court hearing.

Sorry for the ramble. I am just so sad and frustrated for my son.

She's on assistance because someone, somewhere, has decided that she meets the criteria. This does support - at least somewhat - the notion that she's unable to work.

Here's the thing about disability. Even for the obviously disabled, it can take years to get a case finally approved. Worse still? It can take the applicant years to gather enough proof of the disability and proof of treatment and that's before they start the application. And worse still? If the applicant hasn't been able to build up enough work credits, she's left with SSI which is based on income. The max is $600/month or thereabouts.

So what we're seeing here is that even she was forced to apply, the max she'd get would be around $600/month. That's really all you can hope to have the court impute as a wage, although others will suggest at least 40 hours @ min. wage.

Now you're talking about custody though and I'm puzzled why it wasn't the parent's primary focus. If he's doing so poorly at school, why hasn't this been addressed in court?

It's not all about the money, correct?

Some states have cash assistance for those that the state finds disabled. They are exempt from.work and time limit requirements. But, they do have to apply for SSI or SSDI. The criteria for cash disability assistance varies from state to state and it is not the same criteria as SSA disability.

Oh that's good to know - do you have a link for OP's state? I'd be really interested in the criteria! (and indeed, it might prompt me to do my own searching for my own state... )

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Also, how long would this last? What happens if the application is denied?

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Quoting Mercy&Grace

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Some states have cash assistance for those that the state finds disabled. They are exempt from.work and time limit requirements. But, they do have to apply for SSI or SSDI. The criteria for cash disability assistance varies from state to state and it is not the same criteria as SSA disability.

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My state automatically excludes those who would likely meet SSI/SSDI criteria.