25-504

25-504. Order of assignment; ex parte order of
assignment; responsibilities; violation; termination

A. In a proceeding in which the court orders a person to pay support the court
shall, and in a proceeding in which the court orders a person to pay spousal maintenance
the court may, assign to the person or agency entitled to receive the support or spousal
maintenance that portion of the person's income necessary to pay the amount ordered by
the court. In a proceeding in which spousal maintenance is ordered to be paid the court
shall order the assignment on either party's request.

B. A person who is obligated by an order to pay support or spousal maintenance, the
person to whom support or spousal maintenance is ordered to be paid or the department or
its agent in a title IV-D case may file a verified request with the clerk of the superior
court requesting the clerk to issue an ex parte order of assignment for support or
spousal maintenance. The ex parte order of assignment may include a payment for current
support and any other support, current spousal maintenance, spousal maintenance
arrearages and interest on spousal maintenance arrearages. A request filed by the
department or its agent need not be verified. The request shall state:

1. The name of the person or agency entitled to receive support or spousal
maintenance.

2. The monthly amount of any current support and the monthly amount of any spousal
maintenance ordered by the court.

3. The specific amount requested for any support arrearages, spousal maintenance
arrearages or interest.

4. The name and address of the payor to whom it is requested the order of
assignment be directed and the name of the person obligated to pay support or spousal
maintenance.

C. After receipt of a request for an ex parte order of assignment the clerk of the
superior court, without a hearing or notice to the person obligated to pay support or
spousal maintenance, shall issue an order of assignment of that portion of the person's
income as is sufficient to pay the amount requested to the person or agency entitled to
receive the support or spousal maintenance. The order of assignment shall include the
social security number of the obligated person. On issuance of an ex parte order of
assignment, the clerk shall issue a notice directed to the obligor in substantially the
following form, which shall also be in Spanish:

Notice

To: The obligor (the person ordered to pay support or spousal
maintenance)

This is to notify you that part of your income or other monies is being
taken away by the enclosed order of assignment that was issued on a request
for an order of assignment that also is enclosed. The order of assignment has
been issued for currently accruing child support or spousal maintenance, or
both, based on the requesting party's claim that you are obligated to pay
this. In addition, the requesting party may be claiming a right to collect
other support, as defined in section 25-500, Arizona Revised Statutes,
arrearages on spousal maintenance or interest on a judgment for unpaid spousal
maintenance.

If you believe the enclosed order of assignment is improper or unlawful,
that your property is exempt by law or that your employer or other payor is
withholding more than is permitted by law, you may request a hearing before
the superior court. You must file a request to terminate or adjust the order
of assignment on forms provided by the clerk of the court within seven days
after your receipt of the order for assignment, request for an order of
assignment and this notice. If you request a hearing, it will be held no more
than ten days after you file your request with the court.

Here are some other important things you should know:

The order of assignment is effective immediately on service of the order
on your employer or another payor. The first employer or payor served shall
not withhold or deduct amounts specified in the ex parte order of assignment
for fourteen calendar days from the date of service to allow you, the obligor,
an opportunity to contest the order of assignment as provided in section
25-504, Arizona Revised Statutes. A future employer or payor may begin
deductions sooner than the fourteen day period after the order of assignment
is received.

If you request a hearing, the court, after considering the financial
resources of both parties and the reasonableness of the positions each party
has taken, may order a party to pay a reasonable amount to the other for the
attorney fees and costs of filing or defending the request.

Under state law (section 33-1131, Arizona Revised Statutes) no more than
one-half of your disposable earnings for any pay period may be taken to
satisfy an order issued for support or spousal maintenance. The amount of
disposable earnings exempt from the order of assignment must be paid to you
when due. Disposable income means the remaining portion of your wages, salary
or compensation for personal services, including bonuses and commissions, or
otherwise, and includes payments pursuant to a pension or retirement program
or a deferred compensation plan, after deducting from such earnings the
amounts required by law to be withheld.

An employer or other payor who receives the order of assignment may
deduct from amounts due to you one dollar for each pay period, but not more
than four dollars per month, for costs. The employer or payor also must deduct
a monthly amount for the support payment handling fee required by state law
(section 25-510, Arizona Revised Statutes).

The employer or other payor on whom the order of assignment is served
will continue to withhold the amount set in the order and will forward the
payment to the support payment clearinghouse until you file with the clerk one
of the following:

1. A verified request to adjust the order of assignment, and the court
adjusts the order of assignment because there has been a change of
circumstances since the time of the issuance of the order or there is other
good cause to do so.

2. A verified request for a hearing to terminate the order of
assignment and, after a hearing, the court terminates the order of assignment
if all obligations have been satisfied or will be satisfied within ninety
days.

3. A notarized stipulation stating that the obligation to pay support
or spousal maintenance has ended and that all arrearages either have been
satisfied or have been waived, and the clerk terminates the order of
assignment.

An employer may not refuse to hire, may not discharge or may not
otherwise discipline you as a result of the order of assignment. If you are
wrongfully refused employment, discharged or otherwise disciplined you may
recover damages suffered, plus reinstatement if appropriate, plus reasonable
attorney fees and costs incurred against the employer.

Unless a court has expressly ordered otherwise, you must notify the
clerk of the court or the support payment clearinghouse in writing of the
address of your residence and of your employment and, within ten days, of a
change in either one. Your failure to do so may subject you to sanctions for
contempt of court, including reasonable attorney fees and costs pursuant to
state law (section 25-504, subsection R, Arizona Revised Statutes). Official
notices will be delivered to you at the most recent addresses you have
provided to the clerk or support payment clearinghouse.

D. Any order of assignment shall be issued only for support, spousal maintenance,
spousal maintenance arrearages, interest on spousal maintenance arrearages and handling
fees. The order of assignment shall state the total amount that the payor shall
withhold. The order of assignment also shall specify the monthly amount of current
support and any other payment ordered for support, the monthly amount of any current
spousal maintenance, the monthly amount of any spousal maintenance arrearages and any
monthly interest payment. If the obligor's disposable earnings from the primary employer
or other payor do not meet the support obligation, the court shall issue an order of
assignment to a secondary employer or other payor of the obligor in order to meet the
full support obligation.

E. An order of assignment shall be served on any employer or other payor by first
class mail, electronic transmission or personal delivery or pursuant to the Arizona rules
of family law procedure. The order of assignment is effective immediately on receipt by
any employer or other payor and any future employer or future payor. Any employer or
other payor of monies shall begin withholding no later than fourteen days after receipt
of an order of assignment. The employer or other payor, if feasible, may begin
withholding sooner than the fourteen day period if a payment to the obligor is due
sooner.

F. Two copies of an ex parte order of assignment and of the request for an order of
assignment, together with a copy of the notice required by this section, shall be served
on any employer or other payor in the same manner as other orders of assignment under
this section. Within five days after receipt, the employer or payor shall serve by
personal delivery or by registered mail one copy of the ex parte order of assignment and
of the request and the notice on the employee or other payee. The ex parte order of
assignment is effective on any employer or other payor, and as an assignment by operation
of law is effective on any future employers or other future payors, immediately on
receipt. The first employer or other payor served shall not withhold or deduct amounts
specified in the ex parte order of assignment for fourteen calendar days to allow the
obligor an opportunity to contest the order of assignment as provided in this
section. Any future employers or future payors shall begin withholding not later than
fourteen days after receipt of an ex parte order of assignment but, if feasible, may
begin withholding sooner than fourteen days if a payment to the obligor is due sooner.

G. After service of an ex parte order of assignment on the employer or payor that
initially receives the order of assignment, an obligor may request a hearing to contest
the ex parte order of assignment. The request shall be made in writing, and the obligor
shall state under oath the specific reason for the request. The request shall be filed
with the court together with a notice of hearing form. The court shall hold a hearing
within ten days after the request and notice of hearing form is filed. Immediately on
the scheduling of the hearing, the obligor shall serve a copy of the request for and
notice of hearing on the person entitled to receive support, and in a title IV-D case to
the department. If the obligor files a request for hearing within seven days after
receipt of the order of assignment, the court may order the support payment clearinghouse
not to disburse any monies received pursuant to the order of assignment until further
order of the court. The obligor may contest the withholding for any of the following
reasons:

1. There is an error in the identity of the obligor.

2. There is an error in the amount of support or spousal maintenance.

3. Invalidity of the order for support or spousal maintenance.

4. Current support or spousal maintenance is no longer owed, if the order of
assignment includes a payment for current support or spousal maintenance.

5. Arrearages are not owed if the order of assignment includes a payment for
arrearages.

H. Any employer or other payor who has received any order of assignment shall
withhold the amount specified in the order of assignment, together with the handling fee
as provided in section 25-510, from the income of the person obligated to pay support or
spousal maintenance and shall transmit the withheld monies to the support payment
clearinghouse within two business days after the obligor is paid or after the payment to
the obligor is due. The handling fee shall be deducted and transmitted monthly. For the
cost of compliance the employer or payor may also withhold and retain an additional one
dollar per payment but not more than four dollars per month for each obligor. An
employer or payor may combine in a single payment withheld monies for more than one
obligor, shall separately identify the portion of the remittance that is attributable to
each obligor and shall include each obligor's social security number. An employer or
payor shall notify the clerk or support payment clearinghouse in writing when the obligor
is no longer employed or the right to receive income or other monies has been
terminated. The employer or payor shall also notify the clerk or support payment
clearinghouse in writing of the obligor's social security number and last known address
and the name and address of the obligor's new employer, if known, within ten days. In a
non-title IV-D case, within ten days after receiving this information the support payment
clearinghouse shall notify the clerk of the superior court in the county where the
support or maintenance order was issued. If within ninety days of the last payment, the
employer or other payor reemploys the obligor or becomes obligated to pay the obligor,
the employer or payor is again bound by the order of assignment and is required to
perform as required by this section. In a title IV-D case the order of assignment may be
reinstated pursuant to section 25-505.01. An employer or payor who fails without good
cause to comply with the terms of an order of assignment is liable for amounts not paid
to the clerk or support payment clearinghouse pursuant to the order of assignment and
reasonable attorney fees, costs and other expenses incurred in procuring compliance and
may be subject to contempt.

I. If a person is obligated to pay child support for more than one family and the
amount available for withholding is not sufficient to meet the total combined current
child support obligation, any monies withheld from the obligor's income shall be
allocated to each family by the employer or payor as follows:

1. The amount of current child support ordered in each case shall be added together
to obtain the total current child support obligation.

2. The amount of current child support ordered in each case shall be divided by the
total current child support obligation to obtain the percentage of the total current
child support obligation to be allocated to each case.

3. The amount withheld from the obligor shall be multiplied by the percentage for
each case to obtain the amount to be allocated to each case.

J. The person or agency entitled to receive support or spousal maintenance shall
notify the clerk of the superior court or support payment clearinghouse in writing of any
change of residential address and of any other information required pursuant to section
46-443, within ten days of any change. If after reasonable efforts to locate the obligee
the clerk or support payment clearinghouse is unable to deliver payments under an order
of assignment for the period prescribed in section 25-503 due to the failure of an
obligee to comply with the notice requirement of this subsection, the clerk or support
payment clearinghouse shall not make further payment under the order of assignment and
shall return payments to the obligor as prescribed in section 25-503. Under these
circumstances the court, clerk or department or its agent shall order the release of the
employer or payor from the order of assignment on request of the employer, the payor, the
department or its agent or on the clerk's own initiative. Any order of assignment from
which an employer or payor has been released may be reinstated by following the
procedures for obtaining an ex parte order of assignment pursuant to this section or, in
a title IV-D case, an administrative income withholding order pursuant to section
25-505.01.

K. Unless a court has ordered otherwise, the person ordered to pay support or
spousal maintenance shall notify the clerk of the superior court or the support payment
clearinghouse in writing of the obligor's residential address and the name and address of
any employer, and within ten days of any change. Failure to do so may subject the person
to sanctions for contempt of court, including reasonable attorney fees and costs.

L. Any order of assignment may be adjusted if there has been a change of
circumstances since the date the order of assignment was issued or for good cause. The
department or its agent or a person obligated to pay or entitled to receive support or
spousal maintenance shall file with the clerk of the superior court a request to adjust
the order of assignment and a proposed order of assignment. The request shall specify
the adjustment sought and the reason for the request. A copy of the request shall be
served pursuant to the Arizona rules of family law procedure, or by the department or its
agent in a title IV-D case by first class mail, on all other parties and on the state if
the department is providing title IV-D support services or has a claim for
arrearages. The party receiving the request and proposed order may request a hearing
within twenty days or within thirty days if service is made outside this state. On proof
of service and if a hearing has not been requested within the time allowed, the clerk
shall issue the order of assignment as appropriate. Within two business days after the
date the order of assignment is issued, the clerk shall transmit a copy of the order of
assignment to the employer or payor, the department or its agent and all parties. Unless
ordered otherwise by the court, in a title IV-D case any order of assignment may be
adjusted pursuant to section 25-505.01.

M. The department or its agent or a person obligated to pay or entitled to receive
support or spousal maintenance may file a request to terminate any order of assignment if
the obligation to pay support or spousal maintenance has ended or will end within ninety
days after the filing of the request and if all arrearages either have been paid or will
be paid within the period or have been waived. The request shall state the reason why
termination is requested and shall contain the name and address of the employer or payor
of the person obligated to pay support. A copy of the request shall be served pursuant
to the Arizona rules of family law procedure, or by the department or its agent in a
title IV-D case by first class mail, on all other parties and on the state if the
department is providing title IV-D support services or has a claim for arrearages. A
party receiving this notice may request a hearing within twenty days or within thirty
days if service is made outside this state. On proof of service and if a hearing has not
been requested within the time allowed, the clerk shall issue an order terminating the
order of assignment as appropriate. Within two business days after the date the order is
issued, the clerk shall transmit a copy of the order terminating the order of assignment
to the employer or payor and to the department or its agent. If a hearing is requested,
the court shall set the hearing within twenty days after receiving the request and shall
issue an appropriate order. A person who is ordered to pay support may request the court
to terminate an order of assignment at any time if an employer is making deductions on
multiple assignments for an obligation for the same minor children. Notwithstanding any
law to the contrary, the clerk shall not charge a fee to a person who files a request to
terminate an order of assignment if an employer is making deductions on multiple
assignments for an obligation for the same minor children.

N. If a request to adjust or terminate an order of assignment is filed, the court
in its discretion may order that the clerk of the superior court or support payment
clearinghouse not disburse any monies in dispute until further order of the court.

O. The clerk of the superior court shall issue an order terminating the order of
assignment if the parties, including the department or its agent in a title IV-D case,
file a notarized stipulation with the clerk that all obligations of support or spousal
maintenance have been satisfied and that the obligor is no longer obligated to pay
support or spousal maintenance. The stipulation shall state that the current obligation
of support or spousal maintenance no longer exists and that all arrearages either have
been satisfied or waived. The stipulation shall also contain the name and address of the
employer or payor of the person obligated to pay support or spousal maintenance. Within
five business days after the date the stipulation is filed, the clerk shall transmit a
copy of the order terminating the order of assignment to the employer or payor and to the
department or its agent. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the clerk shall not
charge a fee to a party who files a stipulation pursuant to this subsection.

P. An assignment ordered pursuant to this section has priority over all other
executions, attachments or garnishments. An obligation for current child support shall
be fully met before any payments pursuant to an order of assignment may be applied to any
other support obligation. An assignment ordered under this section does not apply to
amounts made exempt under section 33-1131 or any other applicable exemption law.

Q. Any employer or other payor shall not refuse to hire a person and shall not
discharge or otherwise discipline an obligor because of service of an order of assignment
authorized by this section. An employer or payor who refuses to hire a person or who
discharges or otherwise disciplines an employee or obligor because of service of an order
of assignment is subject to contempt and sanctions as may be ordered by the court. A
person who is wrongfully refused employment, wrongfully discharged or otherwise
disciplined is entitled to recover damages sustained by the prohibited conduct,
reinstatement, if appropriate, and attorney fees and costs incurred.

R. In any proceeding under this section the court, after considering the financial
resources of the parties and the reasonableness of the positions each party has taken,
may order a party to pay a reasonable amount to another party for the costs and expenses,
including attorney fees, of maintaining or defending the proceeding.