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I HAVE A SUPPORT ORDER - NOW WHAT DO I DO WITH IT? 
by David E. Rickett, Esq. - The Reape - Rickett Law Firm

It is quite common in an initial dissolution action that a support order, either spousal, child, or both, will be made by the court. It is also quite common that the payor will abide by the court order and make the payments to the supported party and there will be no issue about timely and consistent payments. However, what happens when payors do not follow the court order, either intentionally or unintentionally? How does one go about actually getting the money? More often than not, parties to an action prepare the proper forms to obtain a support hearing, then leave the court and the support that was ordered to be paid the following month never arrives. Panic then sets in and the payee learns that a particular form is necessary in order to garnish the other party’s earnings and they didn’t complete the necessary form while at court. When this happens, it can be a few more months before the appropriate paperwork gets in front of the Judge for issuance of the withholding order. This presents all types of problems for the party who is depending on timely and consistent support payments. The form required for garnishment is an Income Withholding for Support (Form FL-195). This form should be ready to submit to the court the day of the hearing so when you actually get a support order, you stand a better than average chance to actually getting the money.

Once the withholding order is issued, it can be used to collect the support order. Family Code, §5206, states the following earnings can be subject to a withholding order:

(a) Wages, salary, bonus, money, and benefits described in Sections 704.110, 704.113, and 704.115 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

(b) Payments due for services of independent contractors, interest, dividends, rents, royalties, residuals, patent rights, or mineral or other natural resource rights.

(c) Payments or credits due or becoming due as a result of written or oral contracts for services or sales whether denominated as wages, salary, commission, bonus, or otherwise.

(d) Payments due for workers' compensation temporary disability benefits.

(e) Payments due as a result of disability from benefits described in Section 704.130 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

(f) Any other payments or credits due or becoming due, regardless of source.

This means that if there are any monies received by the supporting party that fall under any of these categories, a withholding order can be used to have the money paid directly to the supported party.