California Family Code 5238 – (a) Where an assignment order or assignment orders include both …
(a) Where an assignment order or assignment orders include both current support and payments towards the liquidation of arrearages, priority shall be given first to the current child support obligation, then the current spousal support obligation, and thereafter to the liquidation of child and then spousal support arrearages.
(b) Where there are multiple assignment orders for the same employee, the employer shall prorate the withheld payments as follows:
Terms Used In California Family Code 5238
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- order: include a decree, as appropriate under the circumstances. See California Family Code 100
- Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
- Spousal support: means support of the spouse of the obligor. See California Family Code 142
- Support: refers to a support obligation owing on behalf of a child, spouse, or family, or an amount owing pursuant to Section 17402. See California Family Code 150
(1) If the obligor has more than one assignment for support, the employer shall add together the amount of support due for each assignment.
(2) If 50 percent of the obligor’s net disposable earnings will not pay in full all of the assignments for support, the employer shall prorate it first among all of the current support assignments in the same proportion that each assignment bears to the total current support owed.
(3) The employer shall apply any remainder to the assignments for arrearage support in the same proportion that each assignment bears to the total arrearage owed.
(Amended by Stats. 1997, Ch. 599, Sec. 29. Effective January 1, 1998.)