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Child support payments involve several steps. It is not as simple as dropping a check off in your co-parent’s mailbox. Rather, there are processes involved that take into account your child’s need for support and your need for accountability. Along the way, you, your co-parent, and the Office of the Attorney General all become involved. When everything works out smoothly your child is the one who benefits most. Stick around and the Law Office of Bryan Fagan will help you better understand the Judicial Writ of Withholding and what it means to your case.
Defining important terms
A custodial parent is the parent who has primary custody of your child. That parent lives with your child during the school year. Importantly, the custodial parent also has the right to receive child support on behalf of your child. As you may expect, this is a major point of contention in many child custody and divorce cases. Being the custodial parent to your child places you in a strong position as far as rights, duties, and time are concerned related to your child.
On the other hand, a noncustodial parent is the parent who pays child support. As the noncustodial parent, you have visitation rights related to your child. Under a standard possession order that means alternating holidays and visitation on the first, third, and fifth weekends of each month. The responsibility of paying child support falls on the shoulders of the noncustodial parent. Today’s blog post will help you better understand this responsibility.
Income withholding- what is it?
As part of your child support you will not make payments directly to your co-parent. Or, rather, you shouldn’t make direct payments because you are not credited for them. The Office of the Attorney General Child Support Division oversees the process of paying child support in Texas. They are the governing body for child support. If you expect to pay child support then you need to be familiar with these folks.
Part of what the OAG does is assist when it comes to having your wages withheld. Your employer will receive a wage withholding order after your family law case. That order instructs your employer to withhold a certain amount of money once a month to pay child support. This way it is sort of an automatic payment that you do not need to get involved with daily. Think of it like an automatic deduction from your paycheck.
Today’s blog post from the Law Office of Bryan Fagan has more to do with what happens when you fall behind in paying child support. At that point, your co-parent would need to file an enforcement case against you. Let’s assume that you are found to be at fault for violating your child support orders. You would be ordered to pay past-due child support as a result of that case. What happens from there?
The judicial writ of withholding
A second court order would be issued instructing your employer to pay to the Office of the Attorney General specific sums of money over a given period. The court would calculate the total arrearage (amount owed) and then would determine an appropriate repayment schedule for you to be on. This is based on the amount owed, your income, and other factors in your case.
This is where we pick up with today’s topic of income withholding. Sometimes issues arise when it comes to withholding income for child support purposes. No system is perfect. The more people and entities that get involved increases the likelihood of mistakes being made. Because of that it is normal for you to have questions about these potential problems. Our blog post today is an attempt to answer those questions and help address them.
What happens if your employer sends your child support payment to the wrong place?
Suppose that your employer makes a mistake and your child support withholding is sent to the wrong child support office. The chances of this happening are admittedly low, but it does happen from time to time. When it does happen your employer must notify the entity named in your child support order within two days after having the child support amount returned. This way the OAG can account for the mistake and you would not be penalized.
How does your employer account for an order of withholding?
Orders to withhold are provided by the clerk of the court from your child support case. That order details all the payment instructions that are needed for this purpose. Please note that no money will be withheld for child support purposes until your employer receives an order. As a result, it is ultimately your responsibility to make sure that an order is received by your employer. Please check with your human resources department or whoever handles payroll to make sure that an order has been received.
If you have a pre-existing order in place the court will need to send an updated withholding order. This happens when a subsequent order takes the place of a preexisting order. Sometimes there can be confusion with this by your employer. Making sure that your employer understands what their obligations are as far as the amount that must be withheld is important. This responsibility also falls on your shoulders.
Communication between you and your employer
Your employer does not have to reach out to you with any updates on a wage withholding order. This is because you would have already been made aware that an additional or different withholding needs to occur. A judicial writ of withholding is the final order in a child support case. You would have had the opportunity to contest the order and argue against its implementation. Your employer is not responsible for anything having to do with the creation of the order. Their responsibility is solely to comply with the instructions as provided by the court.
How to handle a situation related to court orders with errors
Sometimes courts will issue child support orders that contain errors. When your employer receives such an order it should contact an attorney’s office or the court that requested that the order be issued. A correction of the order needs to take place before an additional withholding. A hearing may be held where your employer can request that a judge or the office of the attorney general clarify particular provisions of the order. Whatever the results of the hearing, your employer will need to comply to the best of their ability.
What should you do if you never received a court order for withholding?
If you never received an order for withholding from the court you should address that with your employer. However, your employer still needs to withhold child support from your paycheck according to the orders. Once you talk to your employer you should contact your local child support office. Or, you have the option to contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan. Our attorneys can help you understand what your circumstances are and whether you need to file a motion for a hearing to clarify what your responsibilities are under the current orders. Your employer will need to pay the child support as ordered until directed to do otherwise by the court.
How is it handled when you are receiving workers’ compensation instead of wages?
Let’s say that you are receiving workers’ compensation due to an injury suffered on the job. It is reasonable to wonder if you need to pay child support based on these benefits. Your employer does not pay you workers compensation most likely. Rather, that would come from an outside provider. As a result, your withholding cannot take place during a time when you are receiving workers compensation benefits.
With that said, workers’ compensation is subject to withholding. This means that Unless your employer is self-insured the right of withholding must be sent to the insurance carrier who pays the workers’ compensation benefits. If your employer is aware of the circumstance it must contact the court and be clear that wages are no longer being paid. This way the court and the office of the attorney general may count for your change in employment status whether you have returned to work or not.
Does your employer need to withhold wages without a court order?
Your employer does not have to withhold your wages as requested. However, the office of the attorney general encourages employers to comply with requests like this to the greatest extent possible. If you want your employer to withhold child support from your wages you should put that statement in writing and provide any supporting documentation possible. You can make their job easier by providing them with the address for sending in child support payments.
What to do when you encounter problems with paying child support
It is not uncommon to find yourself in a position where you are experiencing difficulty in paying child support. This can be related to several factors. However, the root cause is usually an issue with paying child support due to a lack of income. This may be an extended lack of income due to a firing or job change. Or, it may be a temporary lack of income related to an injury suffered on the job or the illness suffered by a family member.
In any event, when you know that you have lost much or most of your income then you can Plan for that. Very rarely does it happen when you are suddenly without any income. And as soon as you learn about the income gap you should reach out to your Co-parent. She is the first person who should find out about the issue you are experiencing. Talk to her honestly about the reason why you are experiencing this issue with income. Go through your budget with her and help her to see that you are not withholding money unnecessarily.
From there, you can talk more in detail about what steps can be taken to help mitigate any issues for your child moving forward. Recall that the child support is ultimately for his or her benefit. It is not for the benefit of your co-parent. Any payment plan or reimbursement plan should be discussed with your co-parent. This can help keep your co-parent satisfied with the steps you are taking to regain your income and employment circumstances. You want to avoid situations where your co-parent becomes skeptical of your efforts and may believe that you are purposefully under or unemployed.
Enforcement cases for child support
If it becomes habitual where you miss child support payments then you should expect that your co-parent will file an enforcement case against you. Simply put, this is a case that seeks to hold you accountable for those missed child support payments. Every instance where your court order has been violated needs to be documented in the enforcement petition. Your co-parent is also able to ask the court for various types of relief for the missed child support payments. The punishments for missed child support can range from monetary fines to jail time. You may also be on the hook for losing your driver’s license, hunting license, or fishing license.
Fortunately, enforcement cases typically leave time for you and your co-parent to negotiate a resolution to the problem. In some situations, you may have a valid defense for not paying child support. Ideally, your co-parent checks with you on this before filing the enforcement case. However, an enforcement case may be filed without understanding the true circumstances of why you have not paid child support. This occurs in situations where you and your co-parent are not on good terms with one another.
In short, you may need to negotiate with your co-parent to avoid future problems related to the payment of child support. For example, trying to save up money to pay your co-parent a lump sum immediately after the filing of an enforcement case is not out of the question. This will help you and your co-parent to stay on good terms and work together on these complex issues.
Modifying child support
Another option potentially at your disposal is to try and modify the amount of child support that you pay monthly. The amount that you need to pay monthly in child support can change over time. This may be the result of a provision in your child support orders or because your co-parent has filed a motion to change the amount. In general, the amount that you pay in child support must be in the best interests of your child. This attempts to take into consideration a range of circumstances involving your child’s well-being.
A material and substantial change in circumstances must be seen to modify child support. In some situations, a job loss or illness would qualify as a material or substantial change. You may need to have your child support decreased for any of these reasons. If this is the case, you need to come to court prepared. This means having proper documentation showing why your income has changed. Even if your shot obligation is decreased you would still have the obligation to continue to pay child support that is past due.
Likewise, your child support obligation may be increased. This may occur if your income increases substantially. Such as when you get a new job or otherwise find yourself in different financial circumstances than you did back when your child support order was first implemented. In any event, defending yourself against a modification is a matter best left to an experienced family law attorney.
Final thoughts on judicial writs of withholding
Child support is an intimidating subject for many people. However, it does not need to be. Rather, child support need only be thought of as its subject that impacts the well-being of your child. If you think about it in these terms, then the obligation becomes much more manageable. Your ability to pay child support depends upon several factors. Being diligent and discussing these circumstances with your co-parent consistently stands to improve the quality of life for you and your child.
Thank you for joining us today on the blog for the Law Office of Bryan Fagan. Our licensed family law attorneys post unique and informative content each day of the week regarding the world of Texas family law. For a free-of-charge consultation simply reach out to our office today. The Law Office of Bryan Fagan is on your side.
Questions about the material contained in today’s blog post? Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan
The attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan offer free of charge consultations six days a week in person, over the phone, and via video. These consultations are a great way for you to learn more about the world of Texas family law. Before signing a document or negotiating on a subject you do not know well, contact our office. We look forward to the opportunity of serving you during an important part of your life. The Law Office of Bryan Fagan is on your side.
