§ 52-362f — Enforcement of child support orders by income withholding.

Connecticut § 52-362f

• Jurisdiction: Connecticut
• Title 52: Civil Actions
• Ch. 906: Postjudgment Procedures

Text

(a) As used in this section, unless the context requires otherwise: (1) “Agency” means the Office of Child Support Services within the Department of Social Services of this state and, when the context requires, means either the court or agency of any other jurisdiction with functions similar to those defined in this section, including the issuance and enforcement of support orders. (2) “Child” means any child, whether above or below the age of majority, with respect to whom a support order exists. (3) “Court” means the Superior Court of this state, including the Family Support Magistrate Division, or the court or agency of any other jurisdiction with functions similar to those defined in this section, including the issuance and enforcement of support orders. (4) “Income” means earnings as defined in subdivision (3) of subsection (a) of section 52-362 . (5) “Income derived in this jurisdiction” means any earnings, the payer of which is subject to the jurisdiction of this state for the purpose of imposing and enforcing an order for withholding under section 52-362 . (6) “Jurisdiction” means any state or political subdivision, territory or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. (7) “Obligee” means any person or entity which is entitled to receive support under an order of support and shall include an agency of another jurisdiction to which a person has assigned his or her right to support. (8) “Obligor” means any person required to make payments under the terms of a support order for a child, spouse, or former spouse. (9) “Payer” means any payer of income. (10) “Support order” means any order, decree, or judgment for the support, or for the payment of arrearages on such support, of a child, spouse, or former spouse issued by a court or agency of another jurisdiction, whether interlocutory or final, whether or not prospectively or retroactively modifiable, whether incidental to a proceeding for divorce, judicial or legal separation, separate maintenance, parentage or paternity, guardianship, civil protection, or otherwise. (b) The remedies herein provided are in addition to and not in substitution for any other remedies. (c) When a support order has been issued in this state and the obligor has earnings subject to income withholding in another jurisdiction, (1) the agency shall on application of a resident of this state, (2) Support Enforcement Services shall on behalf of any client for whom Support Enforcement Services is providing services, (3) an obligee or obligor of a support order issued by this state may, or (4) an agency to whom the obligee has assigned support rights may, promptly request the agency of another jurisdiction in which the obligor of a support order derives income to enter the order for the purpose of obtaining income withholding against such income. The agency or Support Enforcement Services, as the case may be, shall compile and transmit promptly to the agency of the other jurisdiction all documentation required to enter a support order for this purpose. The agency or Support Enforcement Services also shall transmit immediately to the agency of the other jurisdiction a certified copy of any subsequent modifications of the support order. If the agency or Support Enforcement Services receives notice that the obligor is contesting income withholding in another jurisdiction, it shall immediately notify the individual obligee of the date, time and place of the hearings and of the obligee's right to attend. (d) When a support order is issued in another jurisdiction and the obligor has income subject to withholding in accordance with the provisions of section 52-362 , Support Enforcement Services shall, upon receiving a support order of another jurisdiction with the documentation specified in this subsection from an agency of another jurisdiction, or from an obligee, an obligor or an attorney for either the obligee or obligor, file such support order and documents in the registry maintained by Support Enforcement Services. Documentation required for the entry of a support order for another jurisdiction for the purpose of withholding of income shall comply with the requirements of section 46b-371 . If the documentation received by Support Enforcement Services does not conform to those requirements, Support Enforcement Services shall remedy any defect which it can without the assistance of the obligee or requesting agency or person. If Support Enforcement Services is unable to make such corrections, the requesting agency or person shall immediately be notified of the necessary additions or corrections. Support Enforcement Services shall accept the documentation required by this subsection as long as the substantive requirements of this subsection are met. (e) A support order registered under subsection (d) of this section shall be enforceable by withholding in the manner and with the effect as set forth for registered support orders of another jurisdiction pursuant to section 52-362 . A support order from another jurisdiction filed under this section shall not be subject to modification by a court or other agency of this state except as provided in sections 46b-384 to 46b-387 , inclusive. Entry of the order shall not confer jurisdiction on any court of this state for any purpose other than withholding of income. (f) Upon registration of a support order from another jurisdiction pursuant to subsection (d) of this section, Family Support Magistrate Division or Support Enforcement Services of the Superior Court acting on its behalf shall proceed as provided in section 46b-377 . (g) An income withholding order under this section shall direct payment to the Office of Child Support Services or its designated collection agent. The office or its designated agent shall promptly distribute payments received pursuant to an income withholding order or garnishment based on a support order of another jurisdiction entered under this section to the agency or person designated pursuant to subdivision (5) of subsection (a) of section 46b-371 . A support order entered pursuant to subsection (d) of this section does not nullify and is not nullified by a support order made by a court of this state pursuant to any other section of the general statutes or a support order made by a court of any other state. Amounts collected by any withholding of income shall be credited against the amounts accruing or accrued for any period under any support orders issued either by this state or by another jurisdiction. (h) The agency or Support Enforcement Services, upon receiving a certified copy of any amendment or modification to a support order entered pursuant to subsection (d) of this section, shall file such certified copy with the clerk of Support Enforcement Services, and Support Enforcement Services shall amend or modify the order for withholding to conform to the modified support order. (i) If the agency or Support Enforcement Services determines that the obligor has obtained employment in another state or has a new or additional source of income in another state, it shall notify the agency which requested the income withholding of the changes within ten days of receiving that information and shall forward to such agency all information it has or can obtain with respect to the obligor's new address and the name and address of the obligor's new employer or other source of income. The agency or Support Enforcement Services shall include with the notice a certified copy of the order for withholding in effect in this state. (j) Any person who is the obligor on a support order of another jurisdiction may obtain a voluntary income withholding by filing with the agency a request for such withholding and a certified copy of the support order issued by such jurisdiction. The agency shall file such request for a voluntary withholding with the certified copy of the support order from the jurisdiction that entered such order with the clerk of Support Enforcement Services of the Superior Court and Support Enforcement Services, acting on behalf of the Family Support Magistrate Division, shall issue an order for withholding. Any order for withholding thus issued shall be subject to all applicable provisions of this section.

Legislative History

(P.A. 87-483, S. 2, 3; P.A. 89-302, S. 3, 7; P.A. 90-213, S. 42, 56; P.A. 93-262, S. 1, 87; 93-396, S. 10; June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-1, S. 72, 75; P.A. 01-91, S. 25; P.A. 03-19, S. 120, 121; P.A. 11-214, S. 32; P.A. 15-71, S. 93; P.A. 16-13, S. 21, 22; P.A. 21-15, S. 145.) History: P.A. 89-302 amended Subsec. (a), (d), (e), (f), (g), (h), (k), (l) and (m) by changing “garnishment” to “withholding” or “order for withholding”; P.A. 90-213 replaced bureau of the court with support enforcement division in Subsecs. (d), (f), (g), (k), (m) and (o), changed family division to bureau of collection services and changed requirement that the family division make payments to the IV-D agency in Subsec. (j); P.A. 93-262 authorized substitution of commissioner and department of social services for commissioner and department of human resources, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 93-396 made technical changes; June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-1 made technical changes in Subsecs. (d), (e) and (f), deleted former Subsecs. (g), (h), (i), (n) and (o), redesignated former Subsecs. (j) to (m), inclusive, as Subsecs. (g) to (j), inclusive, and made technical and conforming changes in said Subsecs., effective January 1, 1998; P.A. 01-91 changed “the Support Enforcement Division” to “Support Enforcement Services” in Subsecs. (c), (d), (f) and (h) to (j), and changed reference to Sec. 46b-213f(a)(5) to Sec. 46b-213h(a)(5) in Subsec. (g); P.A. 03-19 made technical changes in Subsecs. (d) and (h), effective May 12, 2003; P.A. 11-214 substituted reference to Sec. 46b-213h for reference to Sec. 46b-213i in Subsec. (d) and substituted reference to Sec. 46b-213r for reference to Sec. 46b-213q in Subsec. (e); P.A. 15-71 amended Subsec. (d) by replacing “46b-213h” with “46b-371”, amended Subsec. (e) by replacing references to Secs. 46b-213o to 46b-213r with references to Secs. 46b-384 to 46b-387, amended Subsec. (f) by replacing “46b-213k” with “46b-377” and amended Subsec. (g) by replacing “46b-213h” with “46b-371”, effective July 1, 2015; P.A. 16-13 replaced “Bureau of Child Support Enforcement” with “Office of Child Support Services” in Subsecs. (a)(1) and (g) and further amended Subsec. (g) to make a conforming change, effective May 6, 2016; P.A. 21-15 amended Subsec. (a)(10) by redefining “support order”, effective January 1, 2022. Cited. 234 C. 194.