Yes. In New Jersey, child support will be collected through the New Jersey Family Support Payment Center (Probation) unless you and your spouse, ex-spouse, or the other parent agree in writing to a direct payment arrangement.
Pursuant to the Federal Wage Garnishment Law, there are certain limits on the amount that may be garnished. For example, spousal and child support qualify as an exception and allow for 60% garnishment and up to 65% if there are twelve or more weeks of arrears.
If your spouse, child’s parent, former partner, etc. seeks to have child support paid through Probation, you have the right to oppose it if you can demonstrate good cause as to why support should continue to be paid directly. An example of good cause may be that there were no late or missed payments and no disputes regarding the amount.
While some parents perceive garnishment of child support with a stigma, there are certain benefits to having support paid through Probation – but there are also cons. For example, once the garnishment is set up (which takes 4-6 weeks or more depending on county), there is a third-party record of your payments and the communication with the child’s other parent is limited. It is also important to be aware that Probation can and will only modify or terminate garnishment if directed to do so by court order.
Diana N. Fredericks, a family law attorney at Gebhardt & Kiefer, P.C. Diana works with clients whose needs lie in all areas of matrimonial and family law.
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