Back/current child support and property lien

I have been paying current and back child support to the state of WA for the past five years, and payments are being deducted from my paychecks. The balance of the back support started in the area of aprox 40k and now it's down to about 29k. I have no problem paying it and I also signed a waiver stating that I would it back in full for however long it would take.

Recently I had remarried and purchased a house. Now the state has put a lien on my house for the balance of the back support of which I am currently paying on. Can they do this? I am paying in good faith and do not plan on skipping out or anything. How can the state put a lien on my house on a debt that I am currently paying on? Also, the house is in both mine and my wifes name. This is my problem and not my wifes. Does my wife have any rights since half the house is hers? I would appreciate any feedback on this.

Thank you,
rodjenkody

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by rodjenkody:
Recently I had remarried and purchased a house. Now the state has put a lien on my house for the balance of the back support of which I am currently paying on. Can they do this? I am paying in good faith and do not plan on skipping out or anything. How can the state put a lien on my house on a debt that I am currently paying on? Also, the house is in both mine and my wifes name. This is my problem and not my wifes. Does my wife have any rights since half the house is hers? I would appreciate any feedback on this.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yes they can, in fact, you do not need permission from the owner to put a lien on an item. The problem you can with this is that you can now not sell the place with removing the lien.

I am of the understanding that if you hold ownership by "Tenancy by the Entirety" the home is protected unless both the husband AND wife are involved in the debt. Is that not so?

The debt is mine alone and not my wifes. According to the child enforcement agency, the divorce papers (Decree of Dissolution of Marraige) included a clause "74.20(a)RCW" under the "Payments to Registry" which is listed under Washington State. I was not aware of this due that my ex filed for divorce without my knowledge (we were seperated at the time). According to this reference, the state has the right to anything I own, even when I am currently paying. My question is, that if my wife owns half of all my assets, can the state take away from her too? And can they put a lien on a house we bought together? I'm very confused over this and I will be speaking to an attorney on Monday. I just want to know what my wifes rights are.