Wage Assignment: Collecting Support Directly From Wages
Free consultation
Wage Assignment: Collecting Support Directly From Wages

Wage Assignment: Collecting Support Directly From Wages

Wage assignment is one of the most common mechanisms for enforcing child support in California. It is also more properly known as a earnings assignment order. This ensures that child support (or spousal support) is subtracted from an employee’s wages. It is then sent to the custodial parent, usually via the State Disbursement Unit.

California law can require child support to be paid via wage assignment. The wage assignment is binding on all employers, and is enforceable even where the employer information is outdated or incorrect. In other words, your ex’s employer must comply with the earnings assignment order . Employers who do not comply with a wage assignment are subject to being brought into court and possibly found to be in contempt.

What do you do if the non-custodial parent’s employer refuses to comply with the wage assignment? First, you must make the employer a party to the case, by filing a joinder. A joinder allows multiple plaintiffs, such as an employer, to be a party in the case. The next step is to file a motion with the Court to have the employer be ordered to comply with the wage assignment. Finally, the Court can find an employer in contempt for not honoring a valid wage assignment, meaning the employer will likely pay a fine for non-compliance.

If the non-custodial parent is self-employed or earns a cash income, other methods of insuring support payment are used. These means of collecting child support include garnishing or intercepting tax refunds, placing a lien on bank accounts. Punishment for non-payment can include suspension of a driver’s or professional license, contempt of court, and revocation of a passport.

Remember, child support is mandatory. This includes people who are getting divorced, parents involved in a paternity action, and parents who never lived together. Furthermore, payment of child support (or non-payment of it) does not impact visitation. The only relationship between visitation and support is how the timeshare impacts the guideline support amount.

If you have a question regarding Family Law in Los Angeles County please contact us at (818) 926-4420 or visit the Family Law section on our website at Law Offices of Anat Resnik. Call today and we will connect you with Anat Resnik, an experienced, aggressive, affordable Divorce and Family Law Attorney in Los Angeles County. After you have spoken with our Los Angeles County Family Law attorney, we can schedule you a free face to face appointment to discuss your circumstances. If you have questions or are considering any aspect of filing for Divorce, a Paternity issues, Child Custody and Visitation, Spousal Support & Alimony, etc. we can help! Call us now at(818) 926-4420. We look forward to hearing from you and assisting you with any and all family law needs.

Comments are closed.