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Groenstein v. Groenstein1/19/2005
ndividual, regardless of source. Income includes, but is not limited to wages, earnings, salary, commission, compensation as an independent contractor, temporary total disability, permanent partial disability and permanent total disability worker's compensation payments, unemployment compensation, disability, annuity and retirement benefits, and any other payments made by any payor, but shall not include .. In determining income, all reasonable unreimbursed legitimate business expenses shall be deducted. Means tested sources of income such as Pell grants, aid under the personal opportunities with employment responsibilities (POWER) program, food stamps and supplemental security income (SSI) shall not be considered income. Gross income also means potential income of parents who are voluntarily unemployed or underemployed.
Wyo. Stat. Ann. ยง 20-2-303(a)(ii) (LexisNexis 2003). The statute specifically uses the word "individual" so an argument could be made that the payment must go specifically to the parent to be included as income. However, as can be seen, the definition of income is very broad. For instance, it includes the phrases "regardless of source," "includes but is not limited to," and "any other payments made by any payor." These phrases indicate the legislature's attempt to include many different sources of income and should therefore be interpreted broadly.
[ ] While the definition does not specifically include SSDI paid to the child, it does include worker 's compensation payments, disability benefits, and annuity and retirement benefits. It is, therefore, apparent that the disability payments received by the parent must be included in income. The same reasoning can be used to include the dependency benefits. SSDI paid to the child is also a "disability" benefit. They are in a sense insurance proceeds paid on the occurrence of the parent's disability. While they are paid for the benefit of the child, those amounts were earned and paid for by the disabled parent. Furthermore, the statute specifically excludes "means tested" sources of income, such as SSI . Accordingly, it is clear that the legislature was well aware of the various types of social security payments. Had the Wyoming Legislature wanted to exclude dependent benefits from the definition of income, it would have listed them among the exclusions. See Kricken, at 56.
[ ] The Kansas Supreme Court reasons:
The Social Security Administration provides benefits for minor children whose parent(s) is (are) disabled. The minor children are considered beneficiaries of the benefits earned and paid for by their parents under the Social Security Act. The money given under this program is an unqualified grant of money to be used as the minor's guardian determines.
Andler v. Andler, 538 P.2d 649, 651 (Kan. 1975). Other courts "have been careful to point out that, unlike welfare and other forms of public assistance, social security benefits represent contributions that a worker has made throughout the course of employment; in this sense, benefits represent earnings in much the same way as do annuities paid by an insurance policy." Miller v. Miller, 890 P.2d 574, 576 (Alaska 1995).
[ ] This appears to be the majority view. For instance in Washington, courts have noted that:
Common sense also dictates that all disability payments be considered income of the disabled parent. Disability payments substitute for earned income. Were the parent not disabled, the parent would continue to earn income which would be counted as parental income. The substitutionary disability payments should similarly be counted as parental income. The payments are made directly to the children, or custodia
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