What can i do if my money is being taken out of my salary for overdue child support payments?

If you are employed, a portion of your wages will be automatically taken out to pay your current and/or overdue child support (called a wage assignment or wage garnishment).[2563] This will happen even if you only owe current child support payments, without any overdue payments or interest. If your child support payments are being taken directly from your wages, you should not need to make other payments.[2564]

If you are not employed, or if your child support is not being taken from your wages, you must make child support payments directly.

  1. 2563

    Cal. Fam. Code §§ 17420 (earnings assignment order for current child support payments), 17522 (earnings withholding for delinquent child support); Cal. Rev. & T. Code § 19271(b)(1)(A) (delinquent child support); Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 706.030 (delinquent child support).

  2. 2564

    The judge is required to make an earning assignment order (also called income withholding or wage garnishment) any time there is an order to pay child support. Cal. Fam. Code § 5230. If you want to make payments directly to the other parent (or caregiver) and NOT through wage assignment, you may be able to work out a different payment arrangement with him/her. If the LCSA is NOT involved in your case, you and the other parent (or caregiver) can agree to make child support payments in some other way, and can ask the judge to “stay” (put on hold) the wage assignment. In this situation, both parents (or caregiver) work out how child support will be paid and handle it between them. If the LCSA is involved in your case, the LCSA will have to agree to have the wage assignment put on hold. This may be difficult, however, because LCSAs usually prefer you to make child support payments through a wage assignment with your employer, and want all child support payments to go through the state payment system (called the State Disbursement Unit), NOT to the other parent directly. Judicial Council of Cal., Paying a Child Support Order, http://www.courts.ca.gov/1197.htm.