Ohio Code 3121.03 – Withholding or deduction from income or assets of obligor
If a court or child support enforcement agency that issued or modified a support order, or the agency administering the support order, is required by the Revised Code to issue one or more withholding or deduction notices described in this section or other orders described in this section, the court or agency shall issue one or more of the following types of notices or orders, as appropriate, for payment of the support and also, if required by the Revised Code or the court, to pay any arrearages:
Terms Used In Ohio Code 3121.03
- Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
- Bond: includes an undertaking. See Ohio Code 1.02
- Child: includes child by adoption. See Ohio Code 1.59
- Financial institution: means a bank, savings and loan association, or credit union, or a regulated investment company or mutual fund. See Ohio Code 3121.01
- in writing: includes any representation of words, letters, symbols, or figures; this provision does not affect any law relating to signatures. See Ohio Code 1.59
- Income: means any form of monetary payment, including personal earnings; workers' compensation payments; unemployment compensation benefits to the extent permitted by, and in accordance with, sections 3121. See Ohio Code 3121.01
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Payor: means any person or entity that pays or distributes income to an obligor, including an obligor if the obligor is self-employed; an employer; an employer paying an obligor's workers' compensation benefits; the public employees retirement board; the governing entity of a municipal retirement system; the board of trustees of the Ohio police and fire pension fund; the state teachers retirement board; the school employees retirement board; the state highway patrol retirement board; a provider, as defined in section 3305. See Ohio Code 3121.01
- state: means the state of Ohio. See Ohio Code 1.59
- United States: includes all the states. See Ohio Code 1.59
(A)(1) If the court or the child support enforcement agency determines that the obligor is receiving income from a payor, the court or agency shall require the payor to do all of the following:
(a) Withhold from the obligor’s income a specified amount for support in satisfaction of the support order and begin the withholding no later than fourteen business days following the date the notice is mailed or transmitted to the payor under section 3121.035, 3123.021, or 3123.06 of the Revised Code and division (A)(2) of this section or, if the payor is an employer, no later than the first pay period that occurs after fourteen business days following the date the notice is mailed or transmitted;
(b) Send the amount withheld to the office of child support in the department of job and family services pursuant to section 3121.43 of the Revised Code immediately but not later than seven business days after the date the obligor is paid;
(c) Continue the withholding at intervals specified in the notice until further notice from the court or child support enforcement agency.
To the extent possible, the amount specified to be withheld shall satisfy the amount ordered for support in the support order plus any arrearages owed by the obligor under any prior support order that pertained to the same child or spouse, notwithstanding any applicable limitations of sections 2329.66, 2329.70, 2716.02, 2716.041, and 2716.05 of the Revised Code. However, in no case shall the sum of the amount to be withheld and any fee withheld by the payor as a charge for its services exceed the maximum amount permitted under section 303(b) of the “Consumer Credit Protection Act,” 15 U.S.C. § 1673(b).
(2) A court or agency that imposes an income withholding requirement shall, within the applicable time specified in section 3119.80, 3119.81, 3121.035, 3123.021, or 3123.06 of the Revised Code, send to the obligor’s payor by regular mail or via secure federally managed data transmission interface a notice that contains all of the information applicable to withholding notices set forth in section 3121.037 of the Revised Code. The notice is final and is enforceable by the court.
(B)(1) If the court or child support enforcement agency determines that the obligor has funds that are not exempt under the laws of this state or the United States from execution, attachment, or other legal process and are on deposit in an account in a financial institution under the jurisdiction of the court that issued the court support order, or in the case of an administrative child support order, under the jurisdiction of the common pleas court of the county in which the agency that issued or is administering the order is located, the court or agency may require any financial institution in which the obligor’s funds are on deposit to do all of the following:
(a) Deduct from the obligor’s account a specified amount for support in satisfaction of the support order and begin the deduction no later than fourteen business days following the date the notice was mailed or transmitted to the financial institution under section 3121.035 or 3123.06 of the Revised Code and division (B)(2) of this section;
(b) Send the amount deducted to the office of child support in the department of job and family services pursuant to section 3121.43 of the Revised Code immediately but not later than seven business days after the date the latest deduction was made;
(c) Provide the date on which the amount was deducted;
(d) Continue the deduction at intervals specified in the notice until further notice from the court or child support enforcement agency.
To the extent possible, the amount to be deducted shall satisfy the amount ordered for support in the support order plus any arrearages that may be owed by the obligor under any prior support order that pertained to the same child or spouse, notwithstanding the limitations of sections 2329.66, 2329.70, and 2716.13 of the Revised Code.
(2) A court or agency that imposes a deduction requirement shall, within the applicable period of time specified in section 3119.80, 3119.81, 3121.035, or 3123.06 of the Revised Code, send to the financial institution by regular mail or via secure federally managed data transmission interface a notice that contains all of the information applicable to deduction notices set forth in section 3121.037 of the Revised Code. The notice is final and is enforceable by the court.
(C) With respect to any court support order it issues, a court may issue an order requiring the obligor to enter into a cash bond with the court. The court shall issue the order as part of the court support order or, if the court support order has previously been issued, as a separate order. The cash bond shall be in a sum fixed by the court at not less than five hundred nor more than ten thousand dollars, conditioned that the obligor will make payment as previously ordered and will pay any arrearages under any prior court support order that pertained to the same child or spouse.
The order, along with an additional order requiring the obligor to immediately notify the child support enforcement agency, in writing, if the obligor begins to receive income from a payor, shall be attached to and served on the obligor at the same time as service of the court support order or, if the court support order has previously been issued, as soon as possible after the issuance of the order under this section. The additional order requiring notice by the obligor shall state all of the following:
(1) That when the obligor begins to receive income from a payor the obligor may request that the court cancel its bond order and instead issue a notice requiring the withholding of an amount from income for support in accordance with this section;
(2) That when the obligor begins to receive income from a payor the court will proceed to collect on the bond if the court determines that payments due under the court support order have not been made and that the amount that has not been paid is at least equal to the support owed for one month under the court support order and will issue a notice requiring the withholding of an amount from income for support in accordance with this section. The notice required of the obligor shall include a description of the nature of any new employment, the name and business address of any new employer, and any other information reasonably required by the court.
The court shall not order an obligor to post a cash bond under this section unless the court determines that the obligor has the ability to do so.
A child support enforcement agency may not issue a cash bond order. If a child support enforcement agency is required to issue a withholding or deduction notice under this section with respect to a court support order but the agency determines that no withholding or deduction notice would be appropriate, the agency may request that the court issue a cash bond order under this section, and upon the request, the court may issue the order.
(D)(1) If the obligor under a court support order is unemployed, has no income, and does not have an account at any financial institution, or on request of a child support enforcement agency under division (D)(1) or (2) of this section, the court shall issue an order requiring the obligor, if able to engage in employment, to seek employment or participate in a work activity to which a recipient of assistance under Title IV-A of the “Social Security Act,” 49 Stat. 620 (1935), 42 U.S.C.A. 301, as amended, may be assigned as specified in section 407(d) of the “Social Security Act,” 42 U.S.C.A. 607(d), as amended. The court shall include in the order requirements that the obligor register with the OhioMeansJobs web site and to notify the child support enforcement agency on obtaining employment, obtaining any income, or obtaining ownership of any asset with a value of five hundred dollars or more. The court may issue the order regardless of whether the obligee to whom the obligor owes support is a recipient of assistance under Title IV-A of the “Social Security Act.” The court shall issue the order as part of a court support order or, if a court support order has previously been issued, as a separate order. If a child support enforcement agency is required to issue a withholding or deduction notice under this section with respect to a court support order but determines that no withholding or deduction notice would be appropriate, the agency may request that the court issue a court order under division (D)(1) of this section, and, on the request, the court may issue the order.
(2) If the obligor under an administrative child support order is unemployed, has no income, and does not have an account at any financial institution, the agency shall issue an administrative order requiring the obligor, if able to engage in employment, to seek employment or participate in a work activity to which a recipient of assistance under Title IV-A of the “Social Security Act,” 49 Stat. 620 (1935), 42 U.S.C.A. 301, as amended, may be assigned as specified in section 407(d) of the “Social Security Act,” 42 U.S.C.A. 607(d), as amended. The agency shall include in the order requirements that the obligor register with the OhioMeansJobs web site and to notify the agency on obtaining employment or income, or ownership of any asset with a value of five hundred dollars or more. The agency may issue the order regardless of whether the obligee to whom the obligor owes support is a recipient of assistance under Title IV-A of the “Social Security Act.” If an obligor fails to comply with an administrative order issued pursuant to division (D)(2) of this section, the agency shall submit a request to a court for the court to issue an order under division (D)(1) of this section.