If you or your ex spouse is falling behind on child support payments, the most common way for collecting the arrears is through wage garnishment. This allows the custodial parent to receive a portion of the other parent’s wages from their paycheck in order to satisfy the child support debt.
Typically the custodial parent will obtain authorization from the court to seize wages. To put a wage garnishment order into effect, the court, custodial parent, state agency, or county attorney notifies the employer, who then informs the employee of the garnishment.
The amount garnished is a percentage of the debtor’s paycheck, which can run anywhere from 50 percent of net wages up to 60 percent if there are no other dependents being supported.
If the wage garnishment doesn’t cover the amount owed, or the debtor does not have wages or other income to be garnished, the custodial parent may attempt to seize property to get the unpaid support. This can include a variety of property such as motor vehicles, houses, stocks and more.
If you have questions regarding payment of child support, contact the family law Offices of Schlesinger & Strauss LLC in Libertyville, Illinois for help. If a support-paying parent falls behind on child support payments or suddenly stops paying altogether, hiring a child support lawyer can expedite certain legal remedies used to collect back-due child support. If your wages are being garnished, you may be able to have the amount adjusted if it is leaving you too little to live on or if you believe the amount owed has been reported inaccurately. Contact us today.
