In re Marriage of Belger

• Decision Date: 18 December 2002
• Docket Number: No. 01-1093.,01-1093.
• Citation: 654 N.W.2d 902
• Parties: In re the MARRIAGE OF Valeta Joan BELGER and David Paul Belger. Upon the Petition of Valeta Joan Belger, Appellee, And Concerning David Paul BELGER, Appellant.
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court

654 N.W.2d 902

In re the MARRIAGE OF Valeta Joan BELGER and David Paul Belger.

Upon the Petition of Valeta Joan Belger, Appellee,

And Concerning David Paul BELGER, Appellant.

No. 01-1093.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

December 18, 2002.

Steven Gardner of Kiple, Denefe, Beaver, Gardner & Zingg, L.L.P., Ottumwa, for appellant.

Valeta Belger, Ottumwa, pro se.

Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, and Christina Hansen and Karla Leffler, Assistant Attorneys General, for resister-Child Support Recovery Unit.

STREIT, Justice.

David Belger was ordered to pay child support following the dissolution of his marriage to Valeta Belger. Thirteen years after the court entered the dissolution decree, David retired and began to receive social security retirement benefits. In addition to regular support payments, David's child began to receive dependent retirement benefits. David sought an offset of his support obligation. The trial court refused the credit and the Iowa Court of Appeals affirmed. Because we find a child support order should be credited to reflect a dependent child's receipt of social security dependent retirement benefits on behalf of an obligor parent, we vacate the court of appeals' decision, reverse the judgment of the district court, and remand.

I. Background and Facts

In 1988, the marriage of Valeta and David Belger was dissolved upon entry of a decree pursuant to Iowa Code chapter 598 (1987). The decree provided David must pay child support for his four minor children. In 2001, David retired and began receiving retirement benefits from the Social Security Administration. By 2001, David was only paying child support for one child, Destria. In addition to Destria's mother receiving child support payments, Destria began receiving dependent benefits on account of David's retirement. David sought an offset of the $328 monthly support obligations by the $303 monthly social security dependent's benefits Destria received. The district court refused to order the credit. David appealed. Relying on State ex rel. Pfister v. Larson, 569 N.W.2d 512 (Iowa Ct.App.1997), the Iowa Court of Appeals affirmed the district court. David sought further review. He argues the court of appeals erred in finding David is not entitled to a child support credit for social security retirement payments the child receives on David's behalf.

II. Scope of Review

We review cases involving child support obligations de novo. Iowa R.App. P. 4; State ex rel. Nicholson v. Toftee, 494 N.W.2d 694, 695 (Iowa 1993).

III. The Merits

The only issue presented to us on further review is whether a parent's child support obligation may be credited to reflect social security retirement dependency benefits the child contemporaneously receives on behalf of the obligor parent. Valeta argues Iowa Code section 598.22 (2001) does not allow a credit for social security retirement benefits received by the child. David argues our decision in In re Marriage of Hilmo affirming the district court's credit for social security disability dependency benefits should be extended to allow a credit for similar retirement dependency benefits. See 623 N.W.2d 809, 813-14 (Iowa 2001). We turn first to Iowa Code section 598.22 to determine whether the issue of credits has been resolved by the legislature.

A. Meaning of Iowa Code Section 598.22

Valeta argues Iowa Code section 598.22 contains a provision dealing exclusively with which types of benefits may be applied as a credit toward a child support order. Iowa Code section 598.22 provides, in part,

Support payments—clerk of court—collection services center—defaults—security.

All orders or judgments entered ... shall direct the payment of those sums to the clerk of the district court.... [A]ll income withholding payments shall be directed to the collection services center.... Payments to persons other than the clerk of the district court ... do not satisfy the support obligations created by the orders or judgments, except... for dependent benefits paid to the child support obligee as the result of disability benefits awarded to the child support obligor under the federal Social Security Act....

An order or judgment entered ... [for] support or for income withholding shall be filed with the clerk.... [T]he clerk ... shall disburse the payments received ... within two working days of the receipt of the payments.... The clerk ... shall not enter any moneys paid in the record book if not paid directly to the clerk....

If the sums ordered to be paid ... are not paid to the clerk ..., the clerk ... shall certify a default to the court....

Upon ... the failure of a person to make payments ..., the court may require the person to provide security, a bond, or other guarantee which the court determines is satisfactory to secure the payment of the support....

The clerk of the district court in the county in which the order for support is filed and to whom support payments are made ... may require the person obligated to pay support to submit payments by bank draft or money order if the obligor submits an insufficient funds support payment to the clerk of the district court.

Iowa Code § 598.22.

Valeta isolates one sentence of this lengthy statute to determine the entire statute's meaning. The sentence Valeta bases her argument upon reads,

Payments to persons other than the clerk of the district court ... do not satisfy the support obligations created... except ... for dependent benefits paid to the child support obligee as the result of disability benefits awarded to the child support obligor under the federal Social Security Act.

Id. This sentence standing alone could be read to mean section 598.22 is a directive for the computation of child support payments. However, when the statute is read in its entirety, the intent of the legislature is clear.

When construing this statute, we consider the whole statute, including the title. State ex rel. Bd. of Pharmacy Exam'rs v. McEwen, 250 Iowa 721, 725, 96 N.W.2d 189, 191 (1959). The title, "Support payments—clerk of court—collection services center—defaults—security" indicates this statute is intended to address the proper procedures for payment and collection of support payments. See In re Marriage of Yanda, 528 N.W.2d 642, 644 (Iowa Ct.App.1994)

(section 598.22 is clear regarding the record-keeping for support payments). This section of the code deals not with the appropriate method of computation of support payments but with the procedures for the collection of support. In re Marriage of Eklofe, 586 N.W.2d 357, 362 (Iowa 1998). Valeta's interpretation of this statute ignores the numerous other provisions explaining how child support is to be paid and collected.

It is true this statute addresses credits for support obligations, but not as Valeta suggests it does. As applied, section 598.22 means "payments made to individuals or entities other than the clerk of court or the collection services center will not be deemed a credit on the official support record." Id. Contrary to Valeta's assertion, the section does not deal with the nature of credits to be made or denied in the calculation of support payments. It does not provide an exhaustive list of the types of payments that may be credited against the non-custodial parent's support obligation.

Though the legislature saw fit to refer to disability benefits in its terms concerning the method of payment of child support, it surely did not intend to exclude retirement benefits as a basis for credit. To use this statute as a means to disallow a credit for all other social security dependency benefits and relieve only those obligor parents receiving disability would be an injustice we assume the legislature did not contemplate. For reasons discussed below, we see no legitimate reason for differentiating between disability and retirement dependency benefits.

B. Credit for Social Security Dependency Retirement Benefits

Though we have not before dealt with the issue of social security retirement dependency benefits, we have determined whether other types of social security payments made to a child should be credited against a parent's support obligation. We have held social security disability payments made to a dependent child should be credited against the disabled parent's child support obligation. Potts v. Potts, 240 N.W.2d 680, 682 (Iowa 1976). In Newman v. Newman, we stated the general rule that "a child support award may be offset by social security benefits during the period the benefits are received...." 451 N.W.2d 843, 844 (Iowa 1990). More recently, we held social security disability dependency benefits should be considered as part of the disabled parent's income for purposes of setting child support and affirmed an offset.¹ In re Marriage of Hilmo, 623 N.W.2d at 812-13. In State ex rel. Pfister, the court of appeals held a parent's child support obligation should not be offset by social security retirement dependency benefits. 569 N.W.2d at 516-17. The district court and court of appeals relied upon this case in their denials of a credit to David's child support obligation for the social security retirement dependency benefits his child received.

The legislative intent in establishing child support guidelines is to provide for the best interests of the child by determining an adequate level of support for children commensurate with the parents' income and resources. Iowa Code § 598.21 (2001); In re Marriage of Beecher, 582 N.W.2d 510, 513 (Iowa 1998). A parent's income serves as the primary ground upon which to determine the appropriate amount of a child support obligation. Consequently, the issue of whether social security benefits should be considered part of the obligor parent's income for purposes of determining the amount of child support is directly related to the issue of whether a credit should be given for such benefits. See Tori R.A. Kricken, Child Support and Social Security Dependent Benefits: A Comprehensive...