INSTRUCTIONS FOR EARNINGS ASSIGNMENT ORDER
DEFINITION OF IMPORTANT WORDS IN THE EARNINGS
ASSIGNMENT ORDER
security, (3) state income tax, (4) state disability insurance,
and (5) payments to public employees’ retirement
systems.
Earnings:
Wages, salary, bonuses, vacation pay, retirement
After the obligor’s disposable earnings are known,
withhold the amount required by the order, but never
withhold more than 50 percent of the disposable
earnings unless the court order specifies a higher
percentage. Federal law prohibits withholding more than
65 percent of disposable earnings of an employee in any
pay, and commissions paid by an employer;
Payments for services of independent contractors;
Dividends, interest, rents, royalties, and residuals;
Patent rights and mineral or other natural resource
rights;
case.
Any payments due as a result of written or oral
contracts for services or sales, regardless of title;
If the obligor has more than one assignment for
support, add together the amounts of support due for
all the assignments. If 50 percent of the obligor’s net
disposable earnings will not pay in full all of the
assignments for support, prorate it first among all of
the current support assignments in the same
proportion that each assignment bears to the total
current support owed. Apply any remainder to the
assignments for arrearage support in the same
proportion that each assignment bears to the total
arrearage owed. If you have any questions, please
contact the office or person who sent this form to you.
This office or person's name appears in the upper
left-hand corner of the order.
Payments due for workers’ compensation temporary
benefits, or payments from a disability or health
insurance policy or program; and
Any other payments or credits due, regardless of
source.
Earnings assignment order: a court order issued in
Earnings should not be withheld for any other order
until the amounts necessary to satisfy this order have
been withheld in full. However, an OrderlNotice to
Withhold Income for Child Support for child support or
family support has priority over this order for spousal or
partner support.
If the employee's pay period differs from the period
specified in the order, prorate the amount ordered withheld
so that part of it is withheld from each of the obligor’s
paychecks.
Obligor: any person ordered by a court to pay support.
The obligor is named before item 1 in the order.
If the obligor stops working for you, notify the office that
sent you this form of that, no later than the date of the next
payment, by first-class mail. Give the obligor’s last known
address and, if known, the name and address of any new
employer.
Obligee: the person or governmental agency to whom
the support is to be paid.
Payor: the person or entity, including an employer, that
pays earnings to an obligor.
California law prohibits you from firing, refusing to hire, or
taking any disciplinary action against any employee
ordered to pay support through an earnings assignment.
Such action can lead to a $500 civil penalty per employee.
INFORMATION FOR ALL PAYORS. Withhold money from
the earnings payable to the obligor as soon as possible but
no later than 10 days after you receive the Earnings
Assignment Order for Spousal or Partner Support. Send the
withheld money to the payee(s) named in items 2 and 3 of
the order within 10 days of the pay date. You may deduct $1
from the obligor’s earnings for each payment you make.
INFORMATION FOR ALL OBLIGORS. You should have
received a Request for Hearing Regarding Earnings
Assignment (form FL-450) with this Earnings Assignment
Order for Spousal or Partner Support. If not, you may get one
from either the court clerk or the family law facilitator. If you
want the court to stop or modify your earnings assignment,
you must file (by hand delivery or mail) an original copy of
the form with the court clerk within 10 days of the date you
received this order. Keep a copy of the form for your records.
When sending the withheld earnings to the payee, state
the date on which the earnings were withheld. You may
combine amounts withheld for two or more obligors in a
single payment to each payee, and identify what portion of
that payment is for each obligor.
You will be liable for any amount you fail to withhold
and can be cited for contempt of court.
If you think your support order is wrong, you can ask for a
modification of the order or, in some cases, you can have the
order set aside and have a new order issued. You can talk to
an attorney or get information from the family law facilitator
about this.
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR PAYORS WHO ARE
EMPLOYERS
State and federal laws limit the amount you can
withhold and pay as directed by this order. This limitation
applies only to earnings defined above in item 1a(1) and
SPECIAL INFORMATION FOR THE OBLIGOR WHO IS AN
EMPLOYEE. State law requires you to notify the payees
named in items 2 and 3 of the order if you change your
employment. You must provide the name and address of
your new employer.
are usually half the obligor’s disposable earnings.
Disposable earnings are different from gross pay
or take-home pay. Disposable earnings are earnings left
after subtracting the money that state or federal law
requires an employer to withhold. Generally these
required deductions are (1) federal income tax, (2) social
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FL-435 [Rev. January 1, 2005]
EARNINGS ASSIGNMENT ORDER FOR SPOUSAL
OR PARTNER SUPPORT
(Family Law)
1.
a.
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
b.
every court case in which one person is ordered to pay
for the support of another person. This order has priority
over any other orders such as garnishments or earnings
withholding orders.
c.
d.
e.
2.
3.
a.
b.
c.
d.
4.
5.
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