Child support orders are effectuated
either by way of settlement, which would include a stipulated order, or, as a result of a
contested hearing and/or trial in which the Court, after hearing the evidence, enters an
order. It is most unfortunate if, after the parties have incurred time, inconvenience and
in many cases, escalating fees, all of which result in a Court Order for child support,
that the payor either ignores the payment, and/or refuses to make the child support
payment in whole or in part. In such situations there are a number of remedies available
to the parent who is not being paid in accordance with the Court Orders for child support.
The payee parent may wish to consider some of the following remedies, which are not
necessarily inclusive of all available remedies, but may be effective nonetheless:
1. Earnings Assignment Order for Support.
This is a device that should be considered
to be utilized at the very beginning after the Court Order for support is made. An
Earnings Assignment Order for support is probably the most effective and commonly used
enforcement method. The employer is required to deduct child support and pay it directly
to the supported parent.
2. Judgment Lien on Real Property.
It can also be effective to record an
Abstract of Support Judgment after the support order is made. An Abstract should be
recorded in each county where the payor spouse owns real property. While the recordation
of an Abstract of Support Judgment will not automatically result in the payment of
delinquent child support, it could be effective if the defaulting party wishes to or is in
the process of refinancing or selling real estate. A properly recorded Abstract of Support
Judgment must be honored and payment made prior to the close of escrow.
3. Writ of Execution
This is a process in which the
defaulting party’s bank and/or financial institution accounts can be levied upon
after one of the parties files certain paperwork with the Court to have a Writ issued. The
process can move as quickly as the Court clerk can process the paperwork. Once the bank
account is levied, the defaulting parent has the right to seek an exemption, but those
exemptions are relatively few and far between. This can be an effective way of either
securing the funds or certainly getting the attention of the defaulting party.
4. Debtor’s Examination.
This is a situation in which the defaulting
parent is actually ordered to appear in Court and to answer questions as to where his or
her assets and/or income is. It may not result in the immediate payment of support, but it
can be a helpful investigative tool for the purpose of finding our where property and
assets are.
5. Action for Contempt
This proceeding requires a Court hearing
and it can take a significant period of time, sometimes 30 or 60 or more days, for the
hearing to transpire. If the contempt proceeding results in a successful finding of
contempt, the finding of a contempt does not automatically mean that the child support
will be paid. The finding of contempt can result in incarceration and/or other punitive
remedies, but not always the payment of actual support.
6. Appointment of a Receivor.
In more complicated instances where the
defaulting party may have an ownership interest in and/or operate a business, this device
actually results in a third party being ordered to investigate and process the support
order so as to make appropriate support payments to the payor. This process does require
that an appropriate Motion be filed and significant time may be incurred in awaiting the
outcome of this process.
The supported parent should also consider
utilizing the services of appropriate child support enforcement offices in the particular
county in which the payee may reside. The utilization of government provided offices for
the collection of child support can be extremely time consuming, but can, in the final
instance also be successful in securing child support.
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