Honesty. Respect. Fairness.
Strong Advocacy.

Wage garnishment: ensuring you get child support payments

On Behalf of | Mar 8, 2022 | Child Support |

If you have a reasonable relationship with your former spouse, maybe he or she will provide punctual monthly child support payments. Even so, you should not take the word of your former spouse that he or she will dutifully hand over a monthly child support check.

You must protect yourself and your children. This is what Florida courts have in mind through wage garnishment for the purpose of providing child support.

Court-ordered child support

The state makes a great effort in ensuring that an employed parent who does not have custody contributes his or her fair share of financial support to minor children.

Courts order child support, understanding that, in some cases, the noncustodial spouse remains reluctant and will not willingly follow a judge’s decree. Because of the possibility that a former spouse fails to pay, Florida – like many other states – has laws in place to enforce child support orders.

Wage garnishment is one of the more common ways to do this. Here, the state courts take money from a parent’s paycheck to pay child support to the other parent.

In following a court order, the employer deducts wages from the parent’s paycheck, earmarked as child support. The garnished wages are then sent to the Florida State Disbursement Unit, which disburses the check as child support payments to the custodial parent. Administrative fees may apply.

A judge’s child support orders also may apply to administrators of a parent’s workers’ compensation insurance as well as a pension fund.

Providing protection

It may not be a good decision to trust your former spouse to provide the child support payment once a month. It is more realistic to have your former spouse’s wages garnished. That way, money is removed from each paycheck and delivered to you electronically. You and your children get the right protection.