What, you say, can these things possibly have in common? Well…not much, except where the money goes!
At a recent SAHMA meeting this topic came up during and Income and Asset Calculation break out session. It was something that I thought that was not new, so I wanted to make sure that everyone was aware of this part of the handbook. Chapter Five of the 4350.3 specifically indicates that benefits paid directly to a former spouse as the result of a divocre decree, court order, anulment, etc. are not to be counted as income. You are required to have the divorce decree and/or other documentation to support this and to be able to determine the actual amount of income.
Make sure that you are calculating income correctly when faced with this issue!
Good luck out there.