Support Enforcement Attorneys in Waterford, Michigan

The first step in the enforcement of child or spousal support is the entry of a Uniform Support Order; this is a standard and required form order that sets out the payor’s support obligations.

Support obligations are then enforced primarily through direct income withholding arranged by the payor’s employer. If the payor is self-employed, then the support payments are made directly through the State of Michigan’s disbursement unit, known as MiSDU.  Although often not advisable, some parties make arrangements for direct payments between the support payor and payee; there is no Friend of the Court accounting service when this arrangement is deployed. The Waterford & Clarkston support enforcement lawyers at Clarkston Legal can help with every aspect of a child or spousal support enforcement.

Income Withholding

The mechanism for income withholding is through an income withholding order [IWO]; an order administratively generated by the local Friend of the Court in accord with the Uniform Support Order. The IWO is transmitted by the Friend of the Court to the human resources department of the payor’s employer and the support obligation is apportioned across the number of checks the payor receives in the employer’s pay cycle.

Sometimes, income withholding does not work due to a payor’s unemployment, frequent job changes, purposely staying out of touch with the Friend of the Court following a job change and a host of other circumstances. When this occurs, the support payee has a variety of enforcement tools available which include:

• contempt of court which could include a jail term;

• tax refund interception;

• wage garnishment;

• lien placement on real or personal property;

• suspension of the payor’s drivers, occupational, recreational, or sporting licenses; and

• initiation of felony criminal charges for failure to pay support.

Once a support payer falls behind and builds up an arrearage, the first step is to bring the matter to the Court’s attention by contacting your caseworker support specialist at the Friend of the Court. This will bring the matter to their attention and will result in the generation of a warning letter to the payor. Following this step, the next step is to go to court on a motion to enforce support; this will bring the matter before the judge. Such motions are useful to the extent that information can be gained about the payor’s current circumstances.

Aggressive enforcement may involve retaining a family law attorney who is well-familiar with the tools available for enforcement and who has experience in securing support payments from an unwilling or uncooperative payor. Our law firm has had cases where the payor sees non-compliance with the family court’s support orders as a challenge or competition. We utilize a coordinated approach to such individuals designed to gather information and secure as many support resources as are available. Most often, it is better to avoid a contempt sentence in jail so that the payor can continue working; most payors that are jailed lose their jobs.

Contact Our Waterford & Clarkston Divorce Lawyers

Sometimes, however, a clear message needs to be sent and a jail term for contempt must be requested. Many family court judges see this as a last resort. If you have a support enforcement issue and need the assistance of a family law professional, contact Clarkston Legal today to schedule a free consultation to explore your options.