Ala. Admin. Code r. 660-3-16-.03

Current through Register Vol. 43, No. 1, October 31, 2024

Section 660-3-16-.03 - Criteria For Issuing An Income Withholding Order

(1) The obligor's child support payments are not deducted from his income until an income withholding order (IWO) is obtained and issued. Most support orders, depending on the time period in which they were entered, contain an IWO.

(2) An IWO is issued by serving notice on the obligor's employer.

(3) If the support order does not contain an IWO, legal action must be taken to enter an IWO before income withholding can be initiated.

(4) Support orders entered before 1984 do not contain income withholding orders. When a legal action is taken on a case with a pre-1984 support order, action should be taken at the same time to obtain an IWO. Upon entry of the income withholding order, it will be issued immediately unless:

(a) The court finds there is good cause to preclude the issuance of an IWO, and the court indicates its findings in writing as to why the implementation would not be in the best interest of the child; or

(b) The parties enter into a written agreement that provides an alternative arrangement.

(5) In the event that the court finds that the IWO should not be implemented immediately, the IWO may be issued when one of the following occurs:

(a) The employment of the obligor is verified and the noncustodial parent becomes delinquent in his/her support obligation in a dollar amount equal to one month's obligation;

(b) The court orders it;

(c) The noncustodial parent requests it; or

(d) The obligee files an affidavit with the Clerk of the Court requesting an IWO and stating the basis for the request.

(6) Support Orders entered between 1984 and November 1990 already contain an income withholding order. For a support order entered during this period, an income withholding order is issued when:

(a) Employment of the obligor is verified and the noncustodial parent becomes delinquent in his/her support obligation in a dollar amount equal to one month's obligation;

(b) The court orders it;

(c) The obligor requests it; or

(d) The custodial parent files an affidavit with the Clerk of the Court requesting an IWO and stating the basis for the request.

Author: Janice Grubbs

Ala. Admin. Code r. 660-3-16-.03

New Rule: Filed June 5, 2001; effective July 10, 2001.

Statutory Authority:Code of Ala. 1975, §§ 30-3-60 through 30-3-71, 30-3-197(a)(5) and (7), 30-3A-501 through 30-3A-506; 45 CFR 303.100; 42 U.S.C. 666(b) and (c).