While these tools can help children get critical financial support, they can also cause problems if things go wrong. Let’s pretend, for example, that Percy received his last paycheck and found that 10% of his wages had been taken, with his pay stub stating “Support” under garnishments.
When Percy called HR in a panic, he was told that his Social Security number had been included in a case for child support, despite the fact that he has no children and the mother is someone that he has never heard of.
Now, Percy’s trying to figure out what to do next to stop 10% of his pay from disappearing. And, unfortunately, family law attorneys say this could be a complicated problem to solve.
What should Percy do to try to get the garnishment to stop?
If Percy wants his pay to stop disappearing, experts say his first call should be to HR.
“You should immediately notify your employer that you are not the correct person that the child support garnishment has named,” Faran Douglas, a divorce and custody law expert on AskALawyerOnCall.com, told Moneywise.
Douglas advised Percy to get a copy of the garnishment order from the employer, then contact the child support office in the jurisdiction where it was issued. And Tina Sharma, a divorce attorney in the D.C. metro area, agrees.
“To remove the garnishment, you need to contact child support enforcement to let them know your Social Security number was improperly used,” she told Moneywise.
It’s important to find out exactly where to call to expedite things because, as Laura Chickering, managing attorney from Fenchel Family Law PC, said to Moneywise, “each state runs its own agency, often called Department of Child Support Services, or similar.” A list of these agencies is available through the Department of Health and Human Services.
It’s also worth noting that the employer must comply with the support order, even if it’s in dispute, until the court says otherwise.
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Telling the agency about the error may not be enough
Calling the office handling the case and speaking with a case worker is a good first step and, as Chickering explained, you’ll likely be asked to provide ID such as a driver’s license, birth certificate, or Social Security card to prove that you aren’t the person who actually owes.
