Take the Child Support From Their Check

An Order for Support in the State of Illinois is comprised of amounts one party must pay to the other for issues such as child support, maintenance, medial reimbursement, a child support arrearage or delinquency. Once the court enters such an order how does one enforce this order? The strongest component of any support enforcement process is the preparation and service of a Income Withholding for Support form upon the employer/ payor of obligor.

The State of Illinois requires by statute, 750 ILCS 28/20(a) that a Notice to Withhold Income for Support must be issued to the employer unless otherwise approved by the Court. The specific terms which must be contained in a Notice to Withhold Income for Support are listed in the statute, 750 ILCS 28/20(c). Of such terms there is a requirement that the form you create, obtain or purchase must be in the format as reflected by the Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement.

***UPDATE November 1, 2011 *** - The Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) and the Federal Office of Management and Budget have created a new Income Withholding for Support form. This form must be used in all child support withholding situations effective May 2012. The form you create or choose to use must comply with this federal form. Your form can not contradict the federal form. Many counties provide over-the-counter forms or online options for you to use. It is my experience that such available forms are inaccurate because of prior changes in Illinois law, or they were never compliant with the previous federal form to begin with. See my article published through the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education. Under the new process employers are being notified to return any Income Withholding form that is not in compliance with the new federal form. In addition to the federal form it is my opinion that you must incorporate the State of Illinois requirements.

I have prepared a form which complies with the requirements of the OCSE and the State of Illinois. This form has obtained approval of the OCSE office directly. The form currently used by the State of Illinois has yet to comply however such change is not mandated until May 2012. Please feel free to contact me to obtain a free printable version or for a fee of $25.00 a version is provided to use as a fill in the blank form which can be saved to your computer and also be sent to employers electronically. I advise you send it via certified mail return receipt.

*For those of you who previously purchased the now outdated form from me I will prepare the new form for you and send to the employer at no cost.

An employer is not permitted to withhold child support simply because you send them a copy of the Order for Support. An Order for Support is not the same as an Income Withholding for Support form.