Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 6, March 26, 2024
A. A
claimant is eligible to receive benefits in the amount of $25 for each
unemancipated child, up to a maximum of two children, and not to exceed fifty
percent of the claimant's weekly benefit amount.
B. The claimant shall declare the dependents'
allowance on the date that the claimant files an initial claim for the benefit
year.
C. Within 14 days of an
application for the dependents' allowance, the claimant must supply
verification that, for each child for whom the allowance is claimed, the child
is the claimant's child, under the age of 18, unemancipated and the child is:
(1) in fact dependent on and wholly or mainly
supported by the claimant; or
(2)
in the legal custody of the claimant pending adjudication of a petition for
adoption filed in a court of competent jurisdiction; or
(3) the subject of a decree or order from a
court of competent jurisdiction requiring the claimant to contribute to the
dependent's support; and no other claimant is receiving dependents' allowance
benefits for that child under the Unemployment Compensation Law.
D. Definitions: "Child" means a
person:
(1) who is related to the claimant
within the third degree of consanguinity; or
(2) who is a stepchild of the claimant by
virtue of the claimant's marriage to the child's biological or legal parent and
that biological or legal parent has sole or primary legal and physical custody
of the child and the child physically resides with the claimant; or
(3) who is in the claimant's legal or
physical custody pursuant to a decree or order from a court of competent
jurisdiction including but not limited to orders of custody, guardianship,
conservatorship, trusteeship or foster care;
(4) "wholly or mainly supporting" means that
the claimant who is applying for the dependents' allowance is in fact
furnishing contemporaneously more than fifty percent of the actual cost of
support for the dependent.
E. The claimant has the burden of
establishing to the satisfaction of the department that the claimant is
actually furnishing more than one-half of the cost of support of the
child.
F. No fixed dollar amount
shall be used to make the determination regarding support.
(1) The department considers "cost of
support" to include but is not limited to a reasonable proration of the
expenses of shelter (including but not limited to household grocery,
toiletries, household cleaning products, rent or mortgage payments, customary
utilities such as water, sewer, gas, electricity and basic telephone), school
expenses of the child (including but not limited to tuition, books, clothing
and supplies for special school or educational activities), medical and dental
expenses including actual payments and payments of insurance premiums; payment
of expenses related to any special needs of the child.
(2) The department may also use any child
support worksheets utilized by a court of competent jurisdiction in determining
the amount of child support due from each parent.
G. Verification:
(1) Claimant shall not be eligible to claim a
dependents' allowance for any person unless the dependent has been issued a
social security number or other federal identification sufficient for purposes
of verification.
(2) A claimant who
is otherwise eligible for benefits and who has not yet submitted the required
dependents' allowance verification shall not be paid the dependents' allowance
unless and until verification satisfactory to the department is
presented.
(3) Upon receipt of
verification within 14 days of the application the dependents' allowance shall
be paid retroactively to the date of the application.
(4) If the claimant submits verification
after 14 days, the claimant will not be eligible to receive benefits
retroactively to the date of the application but will be eligible to receive
benefits retroactively to the date of submission of verification satisfactory
to the department.
H.
Changes in eligibility:
(1) During the life of
the claim, should claimant become eligible for a dependents' allowance,
claimant may request from the department that the dependents' allowance be
granted. Claimant will be required to provide proof that the dependent for
which the benefit is being sought was not a dependent at the time of the filing
of the initial claim. The department will issue a written determination whether
claimant is granted or denied the dependents' allowance.
(2) During the life of the claim, should
claimant no longer be eligible to claim a dependents' benefit for one or more
of the dependents for whom claimant is receiving the dependents' allowance,
claimant is required to report to the department within five days any such
change in circumstances. A claimant who fails to report such change in
circumstances may be assessed an overpayment.
(3) Should the circumstances of who provides
support for the dependent change during the life of the claim, the claimant
shall inform the department within five days of the change of
circumstances.
I.
Multiple claims: Only one claimant may receive a dependents' allowance for any
specific dependent. In the event two claimants each request to receive the
dependents' allowance for the same child, upon notification of the dispute, the
department shall continue making payments to the claimant who the department
initially determined was eligible to receive benefits for the dependent. A
later claimant may demonstrate a superior claim to the dependents' allowance
for a child by producing documentation showing that the later claimant has a
paramount right to claim the dependents' allowance, including but not limited
to:
(1) a custody decree or order from a court
of competent jurisdiction finding that the dependent child is or should be in
the primary physical custody of the later claimant or that the later claimant
is obligated to provide more than fifty percent of the dependent child's
support and that the later claimant is in fact the primary physical custodian
of the dependent child or is in fact providing more than fifty percent of the
dependent child's support;
(2) a
custody decree or order from a court of competent jurisdiction or similar
document including, but not limited to IRS form 8332, finding that the later
claimant is eligible to claim the child as a dependent for official
purposes.
J. Once a
claimant has been determined to be eligible for the dependents' allowance that
determination will remain in effect for the life of the claim, subject to the
provisions of Subsection H of 11.3.300.327 NMAC.
K. Payment of regular benefits will not be
delayed due to any delay in processing the application for dependents'
allowance.
L. A contributing
employer's account will not be charged any portion of benefits paid for the
dependents' allowance.
