Using Income Withholding Orders to Secure Child Support and Alimony Payments in Florida

You may be tired of receiving child support or alimony payments late or not at all, and you would like to be paid directly from the employer of your ex-spouse or child’s father/mother.  Florida Statutes 61.1301 provides that an income deduction order can be entered once there is an order of alimony or child support by the court.  The income deduction order must be issued by separate order.

There is a federally approved and required Income Withholding Order “IWO” that will allow you to garnish income for child support and alimony.  See 42 U.S.C. 666, Social Security Act.  Arrearage of child support can be withheld also and the employer/income withholder is given instructions on how much to withhold until full payment is made.

There are very clear rules about the IWO, and an IWO may be rejected and delay payment if not completed properly.  The employer must reject the IWO and return to the sender if the IWO instructs the employer/income withholder to send a payment to an entity other than a state disbursement unit, which is a centralized facility for collections and disbursement of child support payments.  Another reason the IWO must be rejected is if the form does not contain all the necessary information to comply with the withholding.  The IWO must include a dollar amount as the amount to withhold and must include a copy of the underlying order.  In addition, the correct Office of Management and Budget “OMB” approved form must be used or it will be rejected.

In Florida, you must also submit the Florida Addendum Form, Form 12.996(d), to the court for signature with the IWO.  The Florida Addendum must be used where allocated child support for multiple children have been awarded.  The Addendum has to be attached because the IWO form does not contain information that is statutorily required in Florida to be included in all income deduction orders.  Because the IWO cannot be altered, the Addendum was created and is used in conjunction with the federal IWO form.

Income Withholding Orders can be complex and difficult for one unaccustomed to completing them.  You need an experienced Jacksonville family law attorney to assist you with garnishing wages for child support and alimony payments.  Contact the Law Office of David M. Goldman, PLLC for more information and a consultation.