Suffering a disabling injury at work can start a chain of events that is difficult to overcome. It can be difficult for loved ones to deal with the change in your abilities, and this might lead to your marriage ending. This is an unfortunate occurrence that means you are going to have to do a lot of planning.
One of the most pressing issues is that you will have to determine how you can make ends meet with only your disability payments. This can be a challenge because you have to think about the divorce costs, as well as standard costs of living. Even in the best of circumstances, divorce can damage your financial stability, but it is often magnified if you are on disability.
Another consideration if you have children is child support. There seems to be some misconception about court ordered support payments. Some people think that you won’t have to meet those requirements if you are on disability, but this might not be the case. If you are receiving Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, you won’t have to pay. If you receive Social Security Disability, your check can be garnished to cover the payments.
One of the first things that you need to do if you are disabled and have a current child support order is file a modification petition. Unless the court modifies the order to reflect a lower amount, you are still responsible for paying the full amount of the original order. This won’t be necessary if you were already on disability when the child support order is issued.
In all cases, make sure that you understand your legal rights when it comes to your Social Security Disability payments. Whether you think you aren’t receiving the right payments or you have other concerns, addressing those swiftly is imperative.