Hi Larry,
My ex-spouse owes me approximately $85,000.00 in arrears through the Fulton County Family Court in Atlanta, where our divorce took place in 2015. I'm self-representing in a petition for contempt in another attempt to collect the rest of my alimony, and would like to receive the full arrears in one lump sum. He's 67 years old and I believe he's collecting his full social security benefits, but I'm not certain of the amount. I was told by a pro bono lawyer in Family Court to use an Income Deduction Order to get the social security benefit at the hearing. Will Social Security distribute a lump sum to me for the full amount of the arrears if the judge signs the Income Deduction Order? Will my ex- husband still receive his monthly amount or will Social Security suspend it? If he's not taking the full amount, can I still get the entire amount in a lump sum from social security without his cooperation, as he hasn't cooperated thus far in providing the alimony payments as stipulated by the court, or will a subpoena be necessary to activate it?

Thank you for your time in this matter.
Sincerely,
Patricia

Hi Patricia,

I'm sorry to inform you of this, but Social Security won't be able to pay you a lump sum for back child support. The most that Social Security could do would be to garnish a portion of your ex-spouse's current and/or future monthly Social Security benefits based on a court order. The maximum allowable garnishment rate varies by state, but it can never exceed 65% of the person's Social Security monthly benefit rate (https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0202410215).

Best, Jerry