Child Support & Income Deduction Order

by Cindy from Clearwater, Florida, Pinellas County


Final settlement reached in mediation stating neither parent owes child support as of the date signed.


However money is continuing to be deducted through income deduction order.

Can my employer stop this based in the signed agreement?



Answer to Florida Child Support Question

Dear Cindy,

If the money deducted from your paycheck is for ongoing child support payments and not for payments in arrears then your answer is yes.

However, if you owe back child support and those are the amounts being deducted, then, no.

If the support payments deducted, are, in fact, for ongoing support that you do not owe -- send a copy of the judge signed court order to your employer and to the Florida Department of Revenue, along with a cover letter requesting that the garnishment be stopped immediately.

A settlement agreement reached in mediation is not a court order until that agreement is forwarded to the judge and he signs it.

Notice: We provide these answers to the general public and our website visitors as a means to further their online legal research. These answers are merely suggestions and should not be regarded as legal advice.

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Comments for Child Support & Income Deduction Order

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Looking for Income Deduction Order Relief
by: Jonathan from Tampa

I live in Florida and I have an income deduction order through my job like most paying fathers. How can I stop such order as child support and federal taxes eat up (most times) at least 55% of the money I make, leaving me scrapping to sustain a normal existence. I don't trust these state people handling my support payments because they previously sent my job a stop income deduction for no reason at all and for about 2 months no money was taken. Then all of a sudden I'm receiving a letter saying I owe $900 when I was only behind like 200 bucks before this fiasco.

No one has ever explained to me why that happened, I've been lied to repeatedly about this incident and every time I prove them to be liars (with visual evidence and testimony not just my words) I get some bull like "somehow a form was made to stop deduction.... or it is your responsibility to keep paying child support regardless of what happens with the your job."

I had to go to a scheduled modification hearing shortly after the mysterious reinstatement of the support order (which by the way was sent to my job shortly after the termination order but had specific instructions for my job not to act on this order for another 3 weeks) to add my daughter with my son and no one there with all these computers and paper work in front of them seemed to know what happened or why.

I never question paying child support and I have no objections to paying but in this current scenario I keep coming up short financially while my kid's mother reaps the benefits (notice I said my kid's mother not my kids and yes I know for sure because I am over there constantly). I just lost my income tax because of being behind and I have a feeling that I will always be behind if I don't take more control of this and cut out the middle man (being my job) even though it's of no fault of their own. The system sucks and is very sheisty and I am trying to stop automatic deductions from being taken out of my check weekly. What actions would be in my best interest.

--It is almost impossible to have an income deduction order removed except in cases where the child support obligation has met a terminating event like when the child turns 18 or is otherwise emancipated, and all arrears have been paid. I can understand your frustration, but there is not much you can do to have the IDO terminated at this point. You may be able to get your child support reduced, but you must show a "substantial and involuntary" change in circumstances.

From what you've written, I'm not sure if you've met this criteria. A substantial change in circumstances is anything affecting your income or the child's need to receive child support. For example, if you lose your job; your employer cuts your salary; you have a dramatic increase in expenses; a prolonged illness; the children become adults (emancipated); the time-sharing or custody arrangement has changed, etc. --Staff
Income deduction sent to my company but refuses to take it out.
by: Scott

I supplied my new company administrator with my income deduction order for child support and she sent it with my new hire paperwork to Enterprise HR , their leasing company. I Worked there for 5 months and it was never once was taken out. I was payed weekly so I went on line and payed it myself every week. I was diliquent more than 12 weeks and payed an extra $50 a week on top of the 156.00 a week I was calculated to pay to bring down the arrearage. I now have been layed off. Should I contact the DOR and tell them that? I know it still will accumulate arrearage until im working again. I was so close to getting back on track. I was only $1500.00 behind at my time of layoff.(2 Months) Down from 4500.00

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