Are Disability Payments Divided After Divorce?

During divorce proceedings, there are a multitude of things that must be divided: property, debt, child support, etc. But what about disability payments? The Social Security Administration gives disability coverage to people who have suffered from an illness or injury that prevents them from working and earning wages. Divorce courts address the division of disability payments differently from state to state.

In many legal separations, one spouse may be awarded alimony from the other. This often happens if one spouse has given up a career to focus on raising a family or maintaining the house while the other spouse works to financially support the family. In this case, alimony can come from the wages earned by the working spouse.

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With disability payments, the injured or ill person typically receives these benefits instead of wages from work. Thus, in some states, disability can be divided upon divorce like wages earned during a marriage. Some states hold that any disability earned during marriage is marital property, and it should be divided as such. For other states, disability that began before marriage is like a debt that began before marriage: it is the sole property of the person who had it before the marriage.

Lastly, other states compare disability payments to the wages that would normally be earned by that person. For instance, if a person in a certain career path would be earning x dollars per month, then those same x dollars out of disability payments are considered marital property. Thus, some states divide this part of disability payments between the splitting spouses.

If you are going through a divorce, the division of all of the assets can be one of the most contentious parts of the legal separation. To help you make sure that you get what you deserve, you should contact a lawyer to discuss your state's policies for disability division.

Are Disability Payments Divided After Divorce?

For an experienced Raleigh divorce attorney, please visit the website of the Marshall & Taylor Law Firm, P.C. today.

IN RI