What is an Income Withholding Order?
Pursuant to K. S. A. 23-3102(e), an Income Withholding Order is a continuing order requiring an employer to withhold a set dollar amount from all pay periods of an employee who is responsible for child support (and may include spousal support or alimony).
Income withholding is required in all new or modified orders since 1990 and therefore does not necessarily indicate that the employee has failed to pay child support as ordered. These orders differ from a wage garnishment which is generally for a limited period and requires the withholding of a percentage of the wages as opposed to a set dollar amount.
What are the types of Income Withholding Orders?
Generally there are two types of income withholding orders:
- ADMINISTRATIVE (IV-D)- ORDER/NOTICE TO WITHHOLD INCOME FOR CHILD SUPPORT, OMB: 0970-0154 Issued by the state CSS agency - in Kansas it is the Child Support Services Program in the Dept. for Children and Families.
NOTE: An administrative order/notice to withhold income for child support is to be considered valid even though it is not signed by a judge or attorney.
- JUDICIAL (Non-IV-D) - Issued by a judge of a Kansas state district court.
Where can Income Withholding Orders originate?
Income Withholding Orders are issued by a court or child support agency of the state where
the child support case was decided.
What is income for purposes of income withholding?
Income is any form of payment to an individual, regardless of source, including, but not limited to, wages, salary, trust, royalty, commission, bonus, compensation as an independent contractor, annuity and retirement benefits, workers compensation and any other periodic payments made by any person, private entity, or federal or state or local government or any agency or instrumentality thereof. K. S. A. 23-3102(d)
NOTE: Cash advances or offsets for loans to employee/obligors are not to be excluded from income for child support withholding purposes.