Will getting married affect my CalWORKs cash aid and CalFresh with 4 kids and boyfriend already on case?

Since your boyfriend is already listed on your CalWORKs case as part of the household (and I assume he's the father of some/all kids?), getting legally married won't significantly impact your CalWORKs or CalFresh benefits. The eligibility calculation is based on household composition, income, and resources - not marital status itself. What WOULD affect your benefits is if: - His income increases after marriage - He gets a job with new benefits that affect your eligibility - You receive wedding gifts that put you over the resource limit ($10,000 for CalWORKs in 2025) It's always good to report the marriage within 10 days as part of your mid-period reporting requirements, but the marriage certificate itself shouldn't change your benefit amount if nothing else changes.

Be CAREFUL!!! When my sister got married last year her benefits got cut by almost $400 even tho her husband was already living with her and on the case!! The worker said something about them considering certain income differently for married couples vs just living together. I'd call and ASK first before doing anything!!! They don't tell you these things until AFTER and then your stuck with less money!!

congrats on getting married!! me n my husband got married last yr and we already lived together with our kids. nothing changed with our calworks but make sure u report it on ur next SAR7 form. also dont forget to change ur name on ur social security card if ur changing ur name cuz that takes forever lol

I had almost the exact situation - 3 kids, boyfriend already on my case for years. We got married in 2024 and I reported it on my SAR7. Literally nothing changed with our benefits because he was already considered part of our "assistance unit" (that's what they call your household). As long as you've been honest about him living with you and his income is already reported, marriage is just paperwork as far as CalWORKs is concerned. But definitely report it within 10 days just to cover yourself. You don't want them claiming you hid information later.

When you get married you better make TRIPLE SURE you report it properly!!! I've been trying to reach my worker for 2 weeks about a change on my case and the phone line just disconnects me every time after 45+ minutes on hold. I swear they do it on purpose to avoid helping people! The system is completely broken and designed to make us fail.

Just to clarify some confusion in this thread: 1. For CalWORKs purposes, if your boyfriend is already part of your Assistance Unit (AU) and is the father of the children, getting married won't change your benefits calculation. 2. Make sure to report the marriage within 10 days as a mid-period change, even though it likely won't affect your benefit amount. You can do this through your BenefitsCal account or by calling/visiting your county office. 3. If you receive wedding gifts of significant value (cash/items), those could temporarily affect your resource limit for the month received. 4. For CalFresh (food stamps), the same principles apply - if he's already in your household and his income is counted, marriage itself won't change the calculation. Congratulations on your upcoming marriage! Just report it properly and you should be fine.

what about child support? does ur bf pay child support for any other kids? cuz that can change when u get married i think

The real question is why are u still on welfare with SIX people in your household?? Thats 2 adults who could be working. My sister has 4 kids and works full time AND goes to school. Just saying.

dont forget that if ur getting married ur income reporting threshold (IRT) might change! check ur latest notice from calworks that shows ur IRT amount and make sure u know when u need to report income changes. thats usually wat causes people to lose benefits, not the marriage itself

I went through this exact same situation! My husband and I got married after living together for 3 years with our kids, and he was already on my case. The marriage didn't change our benefits at all since he was already counted as part of our household. Just make sure you report it within 10 days like everyone said - I did it through my BenefitsCal account online which was super easy. The only thing that would change your benefits is if his income changes or you get wedding money that puts you over the resource limits. Since you've been honest about everything so far, you should be totally fine! Congratulations on making it official! 💕

I just wanted to add that if you're planning to get married this summer, you might want to consider timing it around your SAR7 reporting period to make things easier. That way you can report the marriage change along with your regular 6-month report instead of having to do a separate mid-period report. Also, since you mentioned he works part-time at Amazon, just keep an eye on any changes to his schedule during peak seasons (like holidays) that might affect your income reporting requirements. The marriage itself won't hurt your benefits since he's already counted, but income changes always need to be reported promptly. Best of luck with your wedding planning!

Just wanted to share my experience as someone who got married while on CalWORKs! My husband was already living with me and on our case for over 2 years before we got married. When we finally tied the knot, I was so nervous about our benefits changing, but literally nothing happened to our CalWORKs or CalFresh amounts. The county worker explained that since we were already considered an "assistance unit" and his income was already being counted, the marriage was just a legal formality as far as the benefits were concerned. I reported it within the 10-day window through my BenefitsCal account and got a confirmation that it was processed. The only "change" was that I had to update my name on various documents after I took his last name, but that didn't affect benefits either. So don't stress too much - sounds like you're in the exact same situation I was in! Just report it properly and you should be golden.

I'm so glad you asked this question! I was in almost the same exact situation last year - my partner was already on my CalWORKs case with our 3 kids and I was terrified that getting married would mess up our benefits. But honestly, it was totally fine! Since he was already counted as part of our household and his income was already being reported, the marriage didn't change anything with our benefit amounts. The key thing is that CalWORKs looks at who's actually living in your home and sharing expenses, not whether you have a marriage certificate. Since your boyfriend is already listed on your case and is the father of your kids, you're already being treated as a family unit by the system. Just make sure to report the marriage within 10 days (I did mine online through BenefitsCal which was super easy), and keep reporting his Amazon income changes like you normally do. The only thing that could affect your benefits would be if his income increases significantly or if you get wedding gifts that put you over the resource limits temporarily. Congratulations on making it official! It's such a good feeling to not have to worry about the "what ifs" anymore. 💕

I'm so happy to see all the reassuring responses here! I was in a very similar situation a few months ago - my partner was already on my CalWORKs case with our kids, and I was worried sick about how marriage would affect our benefits. Like everyone else has shared, getting married didn't change our benefit amounts at all since he was already counted as part of our assistance unit. The most important thing is just making sure you report the marriage within 10 days. I used the BenefitsCal online portal and it was really straightforward - just had to update the marital status and submit. Since your boyfriend's Amazon income is already being reported and counted, that won't change either. One small tip: if you're planning to change your last name, you might want to wait until after your next SAR7 reporting period to do all the name change paperwork (Social Security, ID, etc.). It just makes things a bit less complicated administratively, though it's not required. Congratulations on taking this step! It sounds like you have a solid handle on your case already, so you should be totally fine. Wishing you a wonderful wedding! 💕

I'm so glad you asked this question because I was in the exact same boat! My husband and I got married after being together for 6 years with our 2 kids, and he was already on my CalWORKs case the whole time. I was SO worried about our benefits getting messed up, but honestly nothing changed at all with our amounts. The way our caseworker explained it is that CalWORKs cares about your "assistance unit" - basically who lives in your house and shares expenses. Since your boyfriend is already counted in your household and his Amazon income is already being reported, getting that marriage certificate is just making it official on paper. The system already treats you like a family unit. Just make sure you report the marriage within 10 days (I did mine through the BenefitsCal app and it took like 2 minutes), and keep doing what you're already doing with reporting his income changes. The only things that could affect your benefits would be if his work hours increase significantly or if you get cash wedding gifts over the resource limits. Don't let anyone scare you with stories about benefits getting cut - if those people had their benefits reduced, it was probably because of other changes that happened around the same time as their marriage, not the marriage itself. Congratulations on making it official! It feels so good to finally be married after being together so long. You guys will be just fine! 💕

I just wanted to add one more reassuring voice here! I was in almost the exact same situation - 4 kids with my boyfriend who was already on my CalWORKs case, and we were so nervous about getting married. But like everyone else has said, absolutely nothing changed with our benefits because he was already counted as part of our assistance unit. The key thing to remember is that CalWORKs looks at your actual living situation, not your legal marital status. Since your boyfriend already lives with you, has kids with you, and his income is already being counted, you're already being treated as a family unit by the system. The marriage certificate is just paperwork - it doesn't change the financial reality that CalWORKs is already accounting for. I reported our marriage through BenefitsCal within the 10-day window and got confirmation that it was processed with no changes to our benefit amounts. Just keep reporting his Amazon income changes like you normally do, and make sure not to go over resource limits if you get any cash wedding gifts. Don't let the one comment about benefits getting cut scare you - that person's situation likely involved other changes that coincidentally happened around their marriage. When everything else stays the same, marriage itself won't affect your CalWORKs or CalFresh. Congratulations on taking this step! You should feel confident moving forward with your wedding plans. 💕

I'm so happy to see how supportive everyone has been in answering your question! As someone who works with families navigating benefits, I wanted to add that you're absolutely right to ask this question beforehand rather than worrying after the fact. Since your boyfriend is already listed as part of your CalWORKs assistance unit and is the father of your children, getting married truly is just making it legal on paper - the county already treats you as a family unit for benefit calculation purposes. Your $1,270 in cash aid and $960 in CalFresh are based on your current household composition and income, which won't change with marriage. The most important things to remember: 1. Report the marriage within 10 days through BenefitsCal or to your caseworker 2. Continue reporting his Amazon income changes as you normally do 3. Be mindful of any wedding gifts that might temporarily affect resource limits 4. If you change your name, update it with Social Security first, then other agencies You're being smart by planning ahead and asking questions. Enjoy your summer wedding - you deserve to celebrate your love without worrying about your family's security! 💕

I just wanted to add my experience as well! I was in a very similar situation - my partner and I had been together for 5 years with our 3 kids, and he was already on my CalWORKs case when we decided to get married. I was so nervous about it affecting our benefits, but like everyone else has shared, absolutely nothing changed with our benefit amounts. The marriage itself doesn't change how CalWORKs calculates your benefits because they're already counting your boyfriend as part of your assistance unit. Since his Amazon income is already being reported and he's already listed as living in your household, getting that marriage certificate is really just making your relationship official legally - not changing the financial reality that CalWORKs is already working with. I reported our marriage through the BenefitsCal app within the required 10 days and it was super quick and easy. Just make sure to keep reporting his work income changes like you normally do, especially during Amazon's busy seasons when he might get extra hours. The only advice I'd add is to maybe consider timing your wedding around your SAR7 reporting period if possible - that way you can report the marriage as part of your regular 6-month report instead of doing a separate mid-period change. It just makes the paperwork flow a bit smoother. Congratulations on making it official! After reading all these similar experiences, you should feel really confident that your benefits will be fine. Enjoy planning your summer wedding! 💕

I'm so glad you asked this question! I was in almost exactly the same situation last year - my partner was already on my CalWORKs case with our kids and I was terrified that getting married would mess up our benefits. But everyone here is absolutely right - since your boyfriend is already counted as part of your assistance unit and his Amazon income is already being reported, the marriage won't change your benefit calculations at all. CalWORKs looks at your actual household composition and income, not your legal marital status. You're already being treated as a family unit by the system, so that marriage certificate is really just making it official on paper. I reported our marriage through BenefitsCal within the 10-day window and it was super straightforward - took maybe 5 minutes online. Our benefits stayed exactly the same. Just keep reporting his income changes like you normally do, and watch out for any wedding cash gifts that might temporarily put you over resource limits. Don't stress about it! Focus on enjoying your engagement and planning your summer wedding. You've got this handled and your family's benefits will be secure. Congratulations! 💕

I just wanted to add my voice to all the reassuring responses here! I was in almost the exact same situation two years ago - my husband was already on my CalWORKs case with our kids and I was so worried about getting married affecting our benefits. But like everyone else has shared, absolutely nothing changed because he was already counted as part of our assistance unit. The thing that really helped me understand it was when my caseworker explained that CalWORKs looks at who actually lives together and shares expenses, not whether you have a marriage certificate. Since your boyfriend already lives with you, is the father of your kids, and his income is already being counted, you're already functioning as a family unit in the eyes of the program. I reported our marriage through BenefitsCal and it was really easy - just had to update my marital status online. Make sure you do it within the 10-day reporting window, but don't stress because the marriage itself won't change your benefit amounts. The only thing I'd add is to maybe keep any wedding gift money in a separate account temporarily and spend it quickly if you get close to resource limits, just to be safe. But that's really the only thing to watch out for. Congratulations on your upcoming wedding! You should feel confident moving forward - sounds like you have everything handled properly already. Enjoy your summer wedding planning! 💕

I'm so happy to see all the positive responses you've gotten! I went through this exact same situation about 8 months ago - my boyfriend was already on my CalWORKs case with our 2 kids and I was absolutely terrified that getting married would somehow mess up our benefits. But everyone here is 100% right - since he's already part of your assistance unit and his income is already being counted, the marriage doesn't change anything with your benefit calculations. What really helped me was understanding that CalWORKs cares about your actual living situation and household composition, not your legal marital status. You and your boyfriend are already functioning as a family unit with shared expenses and his Amazon income being reported, so that marriage certificate is really just making it official on paper. I reported our marriage through the BenefitsCal app within the 10-day window and it was super quick - maybe 3 minutes total. Our benefits stayed exactly the same. Just keep doing what you're already doing with reporting his income changes, especially during Amazon's busy seasons. One small tip: if you're planning to change your last name, you might want to gather all the documents you'll need (birth certificate, marriage certificate, etc.) ahead of time since updating everything with Social Security, DMV, etc. can take a while. Don't let anyone scare you with stories about benefits getting cut - those situations usually involve other changes happening at the same time. You're being smart by asking these questions ahead of time! Congratulations on your upcoming summer wedding! 💕