Will an Inheritance Affect Child Support?

Child support arrangements can be modified when the person paying or receiving child support experiences changing circumstances in their life, including the amount of money they have.

It is worth noting, though, that in most cases gifts and inheritances are not included in calculated income for child support purposes. Still, a court can consider an inheritance income if the parent decides not to work after receiving that inheritance, instead using interest accrued from that inheritance as income.

Inheritance and child support modification

People receive gifts and inheritances in different ways and from different sources. An inheritance might come in the form of a cash payment, or it could come in the form of stocks, monthly installments or physical properties. Most of the time, lump sum payments and valuable property will not count as income for child support, but interest, monthly payments and dividends on stocks from inheritance may count as income for calculating child support in some circumstances.

Knowledge of these inheritances might influence child support proceedings. A person who knows an ex will be receiving a large inheritance might wish to delay child support proceedings until that inheritance occurs, or might at least wish to let the court know about the impending inheritance.

When a child support order is already in place, any modifications to that arrangement that could be influenced by the inheritance must be asked for in court. There is a formal petition process for modifying child support arrangements, and you will need to prove there has been a “material change in circumstance” on the part of the other parent due to the inheritance.

For more information about how inheritances and gifts might affect child support, contact an experienced Tampa estate planning lawyer at BaumannKangas Estate Law.