What is a Wage Assignment and how does one work?
A Wage Assignment is another term for what the law calls an Order of Assignment. A Wage Assignment is ordered in every case and is an easy, convenient way for the payor to make a child support payment. The court sends a copy of the Wage Assignment instructing an employer to automatically deduct child support from the payors paycheck to comply with a court order. The employer must send the payment to the Support Payment Clearinghouse within two business days of the date the employee (payor) is paid. The Support Payment Clearinghouse records the payment, and forwards payment to the payee. A Wage Assignment also may be issued by the state child support enforcement agency if the agency is providing services in a particular case. When does a Wage Assignment go into effect? There can be a delay of up to a month or longer while the Wage Assignment is being processed. Until the Wage Assignment is in effect, the payor must make payments directly to the Support Payment Clearinghouse. Once the Wa
