CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT
Many Washington Court
Orders, and all administrative notices, contain
immediate wage withholding language authorizing
the Division of Child Support to take collection
action even when a parent is not behind in
payments. When an employer is known, DCS
issues a payroll deduction notice. When
there is a past due support debt, DCS also files
a lien in the county where the responsible parent
resides and/or own property. Previously,
employers were required to deduct child support
from earnings when a parent was delinquent in his
or her support payments. Today, federal
laws require support enforcement agencies to
initiate wage withholding on the effective date
of the child support order to prevent
delinquencies from occurring. Parents may
now be subject to the attachment of their wages
regardless of any support arrears.
Sometimes the Order issued by DCS requires the
employer to withhold 50 percent of the net wages
instead of a fixed dollar amount. This
action may be taken when a parent has a history
of avoiding the payment of child support, moves
from job to job without notifying DCS, or when
the debt is in danger of being lost to the
Statute of Limitations.
Another way a support
order can be enforced is through a Contempt
proceeding. Contempt actions can be filed
by an individual or by the County Prosecutor if
there is evidence that the obligated parent is
willfully refusing to pay support. The
Court can then take action to ensure compliance
with its Orders, including ordering payment of
fines or attorneys fees or imprisonment. If
imprisonment is sought as a sanction, the obligor
may have the right to a Court-appointed attorney.
Our
firm consist of three lawyers, Peter W. Mogren,
Ronald E. Glessner, and Ruth A. Roti. Our
emphasis is in family law, wills and probate, and
personal injury. Please click on the topics
above for details about these areas of practice,
including divorce, legal separation, property
division, child support, spousal maintenance,
parenting plans, modifications, paternity,
adoption, wills, Community Property Agreements,
Durable Power of Attorney, and probate.
Our
firm is conveniently located in Renton, King
County, Washington, just off the freeway at the
intersection of I-405 and I-167. Our
attorneys represent clients throughout the State
of Washington, including the communities of
Renton, Kent, Tukwila, Seattle, Bellevue, Auburn,
Maple Valley, Federal Way, Des Moines, Burien,
SeaTac, Enumclaw and most of south King County.
The
information contained in these pages is not
intended to be legal advice, and does not create
an attorney-client relationship. You should
always consult with an attorney before taking any
action. Feel free to contact us at 425-255-4542.
