Many Tampa family law attorneys are constantly asked about Income Withholding Orders or IWOs, as they are more commonly known. IWOs are mentioned in cases involving child support and/or child support arrearage payments. Florida Statute Section 61.1301 covers the legal requirements of an Income Withholding Order.
Income Withholding Orders are sent directly to a party’s employer and the employer pays directly to the party seeking the child support. Over 70% of the child support in Florida is paid directly by Florida employers through income withholding orders. There are significant benefits for both the payor and the payee. The payor enjoys the reassurance monthly that the payment is going to be made, while the payee knows they will be paid monthly, without the issues of receiving the check in the mail. Even more important, IWOs provide the parties a clear record of what has been paid and when the payment was made. As you can imagine, this is far more preferable than the two parties relying on their own records of what has been paid and when it has been paid. The Federal Consumer Credit Protection Act specifically limits the amounts that an Income Withholding Order can withhold from an employees’ paycheck.
Tampa family law attorneys are often asked about what happens when employers refuse to abide by the terms of the IWO. The simple answer is that it usually does not happen. The overwhelming majority of companies routinely deal and abide with Income Withholding Orders. In the event a company refuses to comply with the Order, they can be found in contempt by the issuing court. Again, this truly rarely happens because companies understand the severity of the Order.
If you or someone you know has questions concerning Income Withholding Orders, contact the Tampa family law attorneys of Hackworth Law for a free case consultation. We have handled many cases involving Income Withholding Orders with a variety of companies throughout the State. If you would like to contact one of our Tampa family law attorneys immediately, please use the “contact us now” tab in the upper right hand corner of our website. We appreciate your time in checking out our Tampa family law attorney blog and look forward to hearing from you.