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You are here: Families & Children > Enforcement of Judgment > Child and Spousal/Partner Support Orders > The judge just ordered child support or spousal/partner support
What happens after the judge makes a child or spousal/partner support order?
I have an order for child support (with or without an order for spousal or partner support). How do I get paid?
I have an order for spousal or partner support only (without child support). How do I get paid?
How do I get the court-ordered support if the Local Child Support Agency (LCSA) is NOT involved in my case?
How do I get a wage assignment?
What forms do I need for a wage assignment for a child support order (with or without a spousal/partner support order)?
What forms do I need for a wage assignment for a spousal/partner support order (without child support)?
Once I get the Wage Assignment, what do I do to get paid?
How long will it take to start getting the support payments?
How will the employer know how much money to take out of the paycheck to pay the court-ordered support?
What if the person ordered to pay child support has other wage assignments?
What if I do not know where the person ordered to pay support works?
What if the employer does not send me the money after they receive the wage assignment?
What if the person ordered to pay support is self-employed?
What is the advantage of having the Local Child Support Agency involved?
How do I find out if the Local Child Support Agency (LCSA) is involved in my case?
What happens after the judge makes a child or spousal/partner support order?
First, have the court issue a wage assignment. Click here to learn how to do this.
If the person who is ordered to pay support is regularly employed, the employer will take support payments directly out of their paycheck. Most support is paid this way, and federal and state law require it in almost all child support cases. It is the employer’s responsibility to withhold the wages if there is a wage assignment.
If you have an order for child support (with or without spousal or partner support), click here.
If you have an order for spousal or partner support (without child support), click here.
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I have an order for child support (with or without an order for spousal or partner support). How do I get paid?
If the Local Child Support Agency (LCSA) is NOT involved in your case, click here.
If the Local Child Support Agency (LCSA) IS involved in your case, click here.
If you don’t know if the Local Child Support Agency (LCSA) is involved, click here.
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I have an order for spousal or partner support only (without child support). How do I get paid?
If you have a court order for spousal or partner support and no child support, then it is up to you to collect your court-ordered support. The Local Child Support Agency (LCSA) cannot help you.
Click here for information on how to go about collecting your spousal or partner support order without help from the LCSA.
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How do I get the court-ordered support if the Local Child Support Agency (LCSA) is NOT involved in my case?
In every case ordering child or spousal/partner support, the court will order that a wage assignment be issued and served, unless both parents agree that payments can be made in some other way. The wage assignment tells the employer of the person ordered to pay support to take the support payments out that person’s wages.
Click here to find out how to get a wage assignment.
If the person ordered to pay support is self-employed, click here. If you don’t know where the person ordered to pay support works, click here.
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How do I get a wage assignment?
- After your court hearing and the judge’s order about support, fill out a Findings and Order After Hearing (Form FL-340) plus any needed attachments that say what the judge ordered.
- Fill out the wage assignment form. For a child support order (with or without spousal/partner support), click here. For a spousal or partner support only, click here.
- Turn in your Findings and Order after Hearing and the wage assignment to the clerk at the court, with at least 2 copies of each.
- The judge will sign your Findings and Order after Hearing and will issue your Wage Assignment. Click here for what to do next.
If you need help with any of these forms, talk to your Family Law Facilitator. Click here to find your Family Law Facilitator.
What forms do I need for a wage assignment for a child support order (with or without a spousal/partner support order)?
Fill out the Income Withholding for Support (form FL-195) and instructions on Form FL-196.
With this form, the employer will withhold child support and spousal or partner support.
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What forms do I need for a wage assignment for a spousal/partner support order (without child support)?
Fill out the Earnings Assignment Order for Spousal or Partner Support (Family Law), (Form FL-435) and Instructions.
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Once I get the Wage Assignment, what do I do to get paid?
- Have someone 18 or older, not you, mail a copy of the Wage Assignment, along with a BLANK copy of the Request for Hearing Regarding Earning Assignment (Form FL-450) to the employer. Call the employer to find out where you should send the wage assignment.
- Have the person who mails the wage assignment complete a Proof of Service by Mail (Form FL-335). Your name and address go at the top of the form.
- File the completed Proof of Service at the court clerk‘s office.
With a wage assignment that includes child support, employers must send the payments withheld to the California State Disbursement Unit (“SDU”). This means that the child support payments will likely come from the SDU and not directly from the employer. Getting your payments through the SDU does not mean that you have a case with the Local Child Support Agency.
If you have any questions regarding the SDU, contact the SDU directly at 1-866-325-1010 or visit them at California State Distribution Unit.
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How long will it take to start getting the support payments?
Once the wage assignment is issued and served on the employer, the employer has 10 days to start taking the money out from the next paycheck of the person ordered to pay the support.
If the Local Child Support Agency is involved in your case, the Wage Assignment is sent to the employer within 15 days of the date the LCSA finds the employer. The employer must deduct the support from the wages and send it to the Local Child Support Agency within 10 days. The county Local Child Support Agency then distributes the support payments it received within two business days.
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How will the employer know how much money to take out of the paycheck to pay the court-ordered support?
After the court decides the amount of child and/or spousal support, the wage assignment tells the employer how much to deduct from each paycheck and where to send the payment.
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What if the person ordered to pay child support has other wage assignments?
Child support is deducted first, before other withholding orders. Spousal or partner support assignments come after child support wage assignments.
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What if I do not know where the person ordered to pay support works?
You can get help from the Local Child Support Agency.
Click here to find out what the LCSA can do to find someone who owes support.
Click here to find out what the LCSA can do to collect child support.
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What if the employer does not send me the money after they receive the wage assignment?
You can write a letter to the employer letting them know they must honor the wage assignment and that the time they have to start taking the money out has run out. If after a reasonable time you still don’t get the payments, there may be other legal steps you can take, like take the employer to court.
When an employer does not withhold the support amount from an employee’s wages after a valid wage assignment, the law says the employer could be responsible for the support payments as well. This should be your last resort. Talk to your Family Law Facilitator for help. Click here to find your Family Law Facilitator.
If you have trouble with the employer making the deductions for the wage assignment, you may want to open a case with the Local Child Support Agency in the County where you live. They will help you as long as you have a child support order (even if you also need help with the spousal or partner support order). Their services are free of charge. Click here to find your local child support agency.
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What if the person ordered to pay support is self-employed?
If the person ordered to pay support is self-employed, the judge cannot issue a wage assignment. Because there will not be a wage assignment, it is best if you can both agree on a different arrangement.
If the person ordered to pay does not send the payments voluntarily, get help from yourFamily Law Facilitator. Click here to find the Family Law Facilitator in your county.
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What is the advantage of having the Local Child Support Agency involved?
The Local Child Support Agency (LCSA) is there to help parents and children with their support obligations. They have many ways to find someone who changes jobs a lot, they can take someone’s income tax return, they can freeze someone’s bank account, and they can suspend someone’s driver’s license or other professional license (like a contractor’s license, or a lawyer’s license to practice). Click here for more information on what the LCSA can do to collect support.
They can also file papers on behalf of either parent to change the amount of support when there has been a change in income, family status, or something else that would affect the support amount.
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How do I find out if the Local Child Support Agency (LCSA) is involved in my case?
If you or the other parent receive welfare for your children, then the LCSA is involved in your case.
If you have asked the LCSA to help enforce your child support order, then the LCSA is involved.
If you still can’t tell, look at any paperwork you have received to see if you find any letters from the LCSA.
You can also contact your LCSA and find out if they have a case for you. Click here to find your LCSA.
Or, you can contact the Family Law Facilitator for help. Click here to find your family law facilitator.
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Last modified: 06/24/2008
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