Terminating a Child Support Wage Garnishment

[leannc]

Calidornia. How do I terminate a earnings withholding order for child support (wage garnishment)? The order does not have a termination date. The child recently graduated from high school and will be 18 years old in October 2006. We would like for it to terminate on her Birthday, so we need to act now.

 

[CandiceH]

Well, since no one has answered I figured I would at least make an attempt....has IAAL been on vacation and not answering posts from CA? I have been gone for a week or more and dont know what is new around here....anywho....go to your county's court website and you should be able to find the forms right there. I am not sure what county you are in so I cant send you a link. If you have problems, you can ask the clerk at the courthouse and they will be able to give you the correct forms. Have a great night

 

[ceara19]

Well, since no one has answered I figured I would at least make an attempt....has IAAL been on vacation and not answering posts from CA? I have been gone for a week or more and dont know what is new around here....anywho....go to your county's court website and you should be able to find the forms right there. I am not sure what county you are in so I cant send you a link. If you have problems, you can ask the clerk at the courthouse and they will be able to give you the correct forms. Have a great night

But first, the OP needs to read his/her actual Court Order and make sure that support terminates on the child's 18th birthday. Individual Court Orders can be different then the state standard.

 

[garrula lingua]

In CA the norm is 18 or 19 if still in high school.

If the child finished school, then it should terminate on the 18th birthday.
If the child has another year to go in school, it will terminate on the 19th birthday or graduation, whichever occurs first.

If Dept of Child Support (formerly DA's Office) is garnisheeing the child support, call them and verify what date the garnishment will stop.

There is a judicial council form to terminate child support; your employer should either receive a notice from DCS or a copy of that judicial council form to terminate the child support (if not DCS, then you will probably have to file an OSC for a court to issue the termination of the wage assignment).
Your employer must continue to deduct the child support until the court advises them to stop by sending the employer the term order.

 

[ceara19]

In CA the norm is 18 or 19 if still in high school.

If the child finished school, then it should terminate on the 18th birthday.
If the child has another year to go in school, it will terminate on the 19th birthday or graduation, whichever occurs first.

If Dept of Child Support (formerly DA's Office) is garnisheeing the child support, call them and verify what date the garnishment will stop.

There is a judicial council form to terminate child support; your employer should either receive a notice from DCS or a copy of that judicial council form to terminate the child support (if not DCS, then you will probably have to file an OSC for a court to issue the termination of the wage assignment).
Your employer must continue to deduct the child support until the court advises them to stop by sending the employer the term order.

Regardless of what the actual law is on this matter, the OP still needs to make sure that HIS/HER court order goes along with the standard. It's not unusual for an individual Court Order to deviate from the "norm". Some parents stipulate that support will continue through College.

If the OP's order mandates that the support does NOT stop at 18 and he makes arrangements to have it end on the child's 18th birthday, the garnishment would more then likely stop because of the state standards. However, he would still OWE the support and my end up in hot water with the court.

 

[garrula lingua]

OP:
Do you recall negotiating with your ex's atty to deviate from the standard (of 18/19 school) when calculating child support. Ck your judgment.

It's very rare, but happens, very infrequently.

If DCS is enforcing the order, they will have the correct date to term - ck with them (they must have the order, to enforce, ergo, they will not term the garnishment too early and leave OP incorrectly in a non-paying state).

PS: As stated, you should stop this order only by a notice from Child Support or by asking the court (via an Order To Show Cause) to issue the judicial council terminatin of wage assignment form to your employer. DO NOT just tell/convince your employer to stop the garnishment.

It would be very unlikely that the court, (reading your judgment & order for cs) or DCS, would terminate your CS too early (more likely they'll keep reducting), but as the prior poster appears to think it is likely, check your judgment for the wording as to when CS stops.

 

[ceara19]

Child support extending past the age of majority is not a rare as you are making it out to be. A search on this site alone will show many, many instinces of this.

If the payments are going through the State's CSE agency, the odds of them screwing up and terminating the garnishment to soon, because a parent follows the proper procedure for terminating the garnishment when the child reaches the age of majority are VERY high. CSE is NOT exactly praised for their accuracy and thoroughness.

If they were very good at keeping track of when each order is set to terminate, parents wouldn't need to send in a request to stop the garnishment in the first place.

 

[garrula lingua]

I dealt with at least 1200 cases involving child support when I practiced FL.

Two had deviations from the norm re CS.