Indian Tribe’s General Welfare Program Payments To Father, Who Has An Annual Salary Exceeding $100,000 Per Year, Were Not Need Based.
In Pateras v. Armenta, Case No. B336065 (2d Dist., Div. 6 February 27, 2025) (published), the 2/6 DCA affirmed the lower court’s conclusion that the monthly payments father receives from Indian Tribe’s general welfare program are not excludable from the calculation of father’s income for determining child support and needs-based attorney fees payable to mother.
Although Family Code section 4058(c) provides an exclusion for income received from public assistance programs, this exclusion applies only to those public assistance programs which are based on need, and for which qualifying for benefits is restricted to only those who meet the poverty requirements for eligibility.
Based on father’s annual income of $114,000, the trial court made a reasonable inference that being a descendant of the Tribe, rather than financial need, was the qualifying factor for father’s monthly payments from the general welfare program.
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