Can My Income Be Withheld in an Illinois Divorce?

 Posted on May 26, 2024 in Spousal Maintenance

It is common in an Illinois divorce for a judge to order one of the parties to pay child support and/or spousal support, also known as alimony. This is called an order for support. An order for support contains all the details about making the payments, such as the amount, the frequency, the dates, and how the payments must be made.

One of the main ways support payments are made is through income withholding. This is a process through which a certain amount of income is withheld from the paychecks of the obligor, or the party who has been ordered to pay the support. The money is then passed on to the obligee, or the spouse who is supposed to receive the payments.

Income withholding can come with certain challenges, such as retaliation from an employer. It is important, therefore, to involve an Illinois family lawyer as soon as you receive an order for support.

When Can My Income Be Withheld?

If someone is ordered by a judge to pay child and/or spousal support, he or she can usually make an agreement with the other spouse to pay with direct payments. Income can be  withheld if:

• No such agreement is made.

• The obligor (the person making the payments) chooses income withholding as the preferred payment method.

• The obligor stops making payments.

In these cases, the obligor’s employer — referred to as the payor in Illinois law — will be served a Notice of Income Withholding for Support. This notice will instruct the employer how much to withhold from the obligor’s paycheck, how often, and for how long.

However, support payments are not the only reason an obligor’s income might be withheld. Sometimes, a payor may withhold the obligor’s income if served with a National Medical Support Notice. 

What Is a National Medical Support Notice?

If two parents get divorced and their child does not have health insurance, or if the child has special needs and requires more than the standard health insurance coverage, a judge will order one or both of the parents to pay for the child’s health insurance. Like with support payments, the parents can agree on how to arrange payment for the insurance. If they do not, it can be withheld from the obligor’s income by serving the employer with a National Medical Support Notice.

A National Medical Support Notice can still be served to the employer even if the obligor’s income is already being withheld because of delinquent support payments.

Contact a Wheaton, IL Child Support Recovery Attorney

Any divorce involving child support or spousal support should be handled by a competent divorce attorney. This is especially true if any income is being withheld. In that case, contact a DuPage, Illinois alimony recovery lawyer. At Davi Law Group, our attorneys have extensive knowledge and experience about income withholding laws. We have assisted many satisfied clients with their income withholding cases and we are ready to fight to get you the best result possible. Call 630-657-5052 for a free consultation.