Cal. Codes » Family Code / DIVISION 9. SUPPORT / PART 5. ENFORCEMENT OF SUPPORT ORDERS / CHAPTER 1. General Provisions
California Codes

Cal. Family Code § 4504 (2026)

General Provisions — Enforcement Of Support Orders

✓ current as of May 2026
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(a)If the noncustodial parent is receiving payments from the federal government pursuant to the Social Security Act or Railroad Retirement Act, or from the Department of Veterans Affairs because of the retirement or disability of the noncustodial parent and the noncustodial parent notifies the custodial person, or notifies the local child support agency in a case being enforced by the local child support agency pursuant to Title IV-D of the Social Security Act, then the custodial parent or other child support obligee shall contact the appropriate federal agency within 30 days of receiving notification that the noncustodial parent is receiving those payments to verify eligibility for each child to receive payments from the federal government because of the disability of the noncustodial parent. If the child is potentially eligible for those payments, the custodial parent or other child support obligee shall apply for and cooperate with the appropriate federal agency for the receipt of those benefits on behalf of each child. The noncustodial parent shall cooperate with the custodial parent or other child support obligee in making that application and shall provide any information necessary to complete the application.

(b)If the court has ordered a noncustodial parent to pay for the support of a child, payments for the support of the child made by the federal government pursuant to the Social Security Act or Railroad Retirement Act, or by the Department of Veterans Affairs because of the retirement or disability of the noncustodial parent and received by the custodial parent or other child support obligee shall be credited toward the amount ordered by the court to be paid by the noncustodial parent for support of the child unless the payments made by the federal government were taken into consideration by the court in determining the amount of support to be paid. Any payments shall be credited in the order set forth in Section 695.221 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

(c)If the custodial parent or other child support obligee refuses to apply for those benefits or fails to cooperate with the appropriate federal agency in completing the application but the child or children otherwise are eligible to receive those benefits, the noncustodial parent shall be credited toward the amount ordered by the court to be paid for that month by the noncustodial parent for support of the child or children in the amount of payment that the child or children would have received that month had the custodial parent or other child support obligee completed an application for the benefits if the noncustodial parent provides evidence to the local child support agency indicating the amount the child or children would have received. The credit for those payments shall continue until the child or children would no longer be eligible for those benefits or the order for child support for the child or children is no longer in effect, whichever occurs first.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 8 cases, 1996–2016 · leading case: Sneed v. Saenz, 16 Cal. Rptr. 3d 563 (Cal. Ct. App. 2004).
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Sneed v. Saenz, 16 Cal. Rptr. 3d 563 (Cal. Ct. App. 2004). · cites it 3× “Further, including Social Security payments in the grant calculation does not deprive MFG children of the use and benefit of those payments.”
In re Marriage of Hall & Frencher, 247 Cal. App. 4th 23 (Cal. Ct. App. 2016). · cites it 2× “) Family Code section 4504, subdivision (b) provides that if a noncustodial parent is ordered to pay child support, then any Social Security derivative benefits paid “shall be credited toward the amount ordered by the court to be paid by the noncustodial parent for support of…”
Graby v. Graby, 664 N.E.2d 488 (N.Y. 1996). “, Cal Fam Code § 4504; Utah Code Ann § 78-45-7.”
Elsenheimer v. Elsenheimer, 22 Cal. Rptr. 3d 447 (Cal. Ct. App. 2004). “” In discussing a parent’s obligation to apply for Social Security benefits on behalf of a potentially eligible child, Family Code section 4504, subdivision (a) refers to the receipt of “payments from the federal government pursuant to the Social Security Act.”
Drummond v. State, 714 A.2d 163 (Md. 1998). “See Cal. Fam.Code § 4504 (West 1994 & 1998 Supp.”
Pacana v. State, Dep't of Revenue, Child Support Enf't Div., Ex Rel. Pacana, 941 P.2d 1263 (Alaska 1997). “, Cal. Fam. Code § 4504 ; Utah Code Ann. § 78 — 45—7.”
Marriage of Bush CA4/1 (Cal. Ct. App. 2014). · cites it 4× “Family Code section 4504 states that derivative Social Security benefits paid to a noncustodial parent's child "shall be credited toward the amount ordered by the court to be paid by the noncustodial parent for support of the child.”
Espinosa v. Dep't of Child Support Servs. CA3 (Cal. Ct. App. 2013). “96-07, dated February 8, 1996, provided that, although credit must be given for monthly payments made pursuant to Family Code section 4504, any excess above the amount of support owed “cannot be applied toward futures or arrears.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.