Child Support Payments – Wage Garnishment

Child support can be collected with many different procedures, the most common method being wage garnishment.

Wage garnishment is similar to income withholding, where a portion of your wages from your employer is removed from your paycheck and deposited directly to the custodial parent receiving the payments.

Typically, law permits employers to garnish between 50-65% of your income for child support payments. The amount depends on many factors, including if the parent paying the child support is supporting another child or spouse.

When the garnishing of wages is ordered, the employer of the parent paying child support will receive a notice requesting their company to withhold the wages of one of their employees. This letter will include a copy of the court order outlining child support payments and amounts.

The employer is then required to send a letter to the employee informing them that explains the wage garnishment, how much money will be taken from their paycheck and how often.

If the parent wants to, they can content the wage garnishment with the court as long as they have grounds to contest the child support payments to present to the court, which could include changes in income, unemployment, or other life changes. You can contest the amount of payments that the court says you owe, or you can contest that the amount taken from your paychecks will leave you with too little to survive off of.

Eligibility to be excused from wage garnishment in child support cases depends on different federal and state laws that apply to your specific circumstances. In Arizona, wage garnishment laws offer the same protection for your wages that come from federal law, meaning that federal law governs Arizona’s wage garnishment laws.

For more information about child support and wage garnishment, visit the Surprise family law attorneys at The Sampair Group.