Legal Question in Family Law in California

My husband and I were surprised to find out that our joint checking account had been cleared out due to child support arrearages. My husband and his ex have been divorced for 7 years. At the time of the divorce he was making a great income in the mortgage industry and was very generous with child support for his 4 children which he has, from the beginning, had the children 50% of the time. When the mortgage industry crashed he did not seek immediate reduction of child support as he was sure he would find another similar paying job. He was on and off of work for a year and eventually gave up trying to find something similar and started his own business, a business that he and I now share. He accrued about $20000 in arrearages during that time. We have been paying, according to court documentation, a reduced child support and a portion of the arrearages each month. Last month, as our business struggles, we were short on the child support payment, hoping to make a second payment later in the month. Today the checking & savings accounts are emptied and apparently levied. I receive an equal amount of pay as my husband for my portion of employment within the business. Also, I receive a monthly child support amount from my ex husband. I have my 2 children 100% of the time and we have one of my step daughters 100% of the time and the other 3 stepchildren 50% of the time. We are broke and struggling to keep our business afloat. How can they take ALL the money in our checking account? I am not legally responsible for paying his ex-wife�s child support am I? His ex wife is not remarried and has not held a job or paid taxes in 7 years and she just bought a new car. We can�t even pay our mortgage! How do we stop the levy? We have outstanding check that will not clear now.


Asked on 6/04/12, 1:46 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Anthony Roach Law Office of Anthony A. Roach

I have a couple of suggestions.

First of all, the entire account can be levied to pay the bill, unlike a wage garnishment which has limits. To lift the levy, you are going to have to file a claim of exemption, which will trigger a hearing. You should have been served the paperwork with the notice of the levy. If you are not going to get an attorney, you will have to research the exemptions yourself, to determine which ones apply to you.

Second, if you have not done so, the child support should be modified downwards, given that your husband helps support other children.

Third, your income should be deposited into a bank account for which your husband does not have withdrawal rights to. This will at least protect your income from future levies.

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Answered on 6/07/12, 4:18 pm


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