Question:
In my divorce agreement, I am supposed to pay $700 per month in child support and have that amount garnished from my income.
However, I have three sources of income and each source is withholding $700 so I’m actually paying $2,100!
How can I get each source of income to withhold the proper amount of child support?
Answer:
Under Texas law, when an employer receives a wage-withholding order, it must make payments according to the terms of the order. Tex. Fam. Code § 158.203(a).
So, if there is only one wage-withholding order entered for the full amount of the monthly child support due, each employer that it is issued to will withhold the total amount stated on the order by law.
In order for each employer to withhold the correct amount you will need to have issued to each employer a separate wage-withholding with the correct amount that each employer needs to withhold, not the total amount of monthly child support due.
For example, if the total monthly child support amount is $700, and you have three employers, each order will be in the amount of $233.33. If your case has already been closed by the court, than you will likely need to re-open it in order to do this.
If you would like to stop the withholding altogether, you will need the court’s permission to do this. Once again, you may need to have your divorce re-opened in order to do this. If you and your wife both agree to terminate the withholding order, than you can present an agreed order to the court asking that the wage-withholding order be terminated or suspended for good cause.
The easiest way to resolve this mix-up is most likely by working something out with the Office of the Attorney General, otherwise, you will need permission from the court to either terminate the wage-withholding or enter a new order.
For more information please contact a Texas family law attorney. Please be advised that my answering of this question does not constitute an attorney-client relationship.
To set up an appointment with a Cordell & Cordell divorce lawyer, including Jennifer Hankinson, a Staff Attorney in the Dallas, Texas office, please contact Cordell & Cordell.
