Generally, recipients of alimony and child support would be more than glad to receive their payments by direct deposit or cash. However, if you are the recipient of child support or alimony, and you are thinking about buying a house in the near future, it may be more prudent to receive child support and alimony payments by check. Why? Because when considering an applicant’s mortgage worthiness, banks require proof of income. Without a paper trail establishing a track record on on-time payments made by the obligated spouse, a mortgage lender cannot count a recipient spouse’s support as income. Thus, former spouses who rely primarily on alimony or child support for income may not qualify for a mortgage absent sufficient proof of that income.
With the above in mind, if you currently receive child support or alimony from your former spouse, and you are considering purchasing a house in the near future, seek support payments by check and make sure you keep meticulous records of the support payments you receive each month.