My ex is collecting social security and he owes me child support. The case was file in 1996 in California. Do I need a lawyer to garnish his SS benefits ?

Hi. Unless you know how to go about obtaining a garnishment order from a court of law, then the answer is probably yes. You can't garnish someone's Social Security benefits simply by asking Social Security to do it. The only way that Social Security will garnish a person's benefits to pay child support is if they are presented with a valid garnishment order from a court of law.

Best, Jerry