St. Charles Support Withholding Attorneys

Orders for Withholding, Garnishments, and Arrearages Lawyers in Kane County

When the court issues a support order, the payments must be made accordingly. If they are not made, the current amount owed as well as the amount in arrears may be withheld or garnished from the paying party’s paycheck. Whether you are the person receiving support or paying it, it is important to understand the process and have an attorney on your side that has experience in these matters.

At the Kane County family law firm of Goostree Law Group, we are experienced in handling cases involving support enforcement. Our attorneys understand how important support payments are to our clients, and we use every tool at our disposal to compel payment on their behalf. If you are not receiving payments when they are due, or if your ex owes you a large amount of support that has gone unpaid, we can advise you of your best options for receiving the amount owed, while also ensuring that they will continue to meet their ongoing obligations.

Income Withholding and Wage Garnishment in Kane County

If you have a court order for child support or spousal support, and you are not receiving your payments as ordered, you can petition the court to have income withheld from the payor’s paycheck. Income withholding is essentially the same as wage garnishment. With a withholding order, the payor’s employer must hold back a portion of the payor’s paycheck and forward that amount to the State Disbursement Unit (SDU) to be passed on to you. The employer does not have the option of refusing to withhold the support and can be fined for failure to do so. The court will decide how much should be withheld, and the amount may include the current support obligation as well as any arrearage (unpaid amounts owed to you).

If both parties agree, the SDU can be bypassed, and payments can be made directly to you. However, it is usually best to put a withholding order in place to ensure that all payments will be made on time and in full. If your ex encounters issues that affect their financial circumstances, they can pursue a modification through the court, but until those modifications are made, support will continue to be withheld from their wages and paid to you. With a private agreement, there is no guarantee that you will receive payments as required, and it may be more difficult to address unpaid support.

In addition to income withholding, there are other tools to collect payment and compel compliance with a support order. These include:

• Suspension of passport privileges;
• Suspension of a professional license;
• Interception of income tax refunds;
• Suspension of drivers license – If the arrearage is $500 or more and at least 90 days past due;
• Judgment against other assets, such as real estate, automobile, stocks, retirement assets (requiring a QDRO), bank accounts; and
• Criminal charges – If the arrearage is $5,000 or more and at least six months past due, this could result in Class A misdemeanor charges. If the arrearage is more than $20,000 and one year past due, it could result in Class 4 felony charges.

Contact Our Kane County Child Support and Spousal Support Enforcement Lawyers

If you are not receiving your support payments and need help collecting the support you are owed, contact us at 630-584-4800 to schedule a free consultation. We will examine your situation and discuss your legal options. We seek to recover support payments in the most efficient way possible. Our attorneys represent clients throughout Kane County and the surrounding counties of Northern Illinois.