Child Support Enforcement Law Summaries
Montana, Child Support Enforcement Law Summaries
Montana's child support law is part of the wage garnishment statutes and is located in the Montana Code Annotated at Titles 19 and 40.
DEFINITIONS
“Income” means any form of periodic payment to a person, regardless of source, including commissions, bonuses, workers' compensation, disability payments, payments under a pension or retirement program, interest, and earnings and wages. “Income” does not include any amount required by law to be withheld, other than creditor claims, including federal, state, and local taxes, social security, mandatory retirement and disability contributions, and union dues; or any amounts exempted from judgment, execution, or attachment by federal or state law (Sec. 40-5-403, as amended by H. 133, L. 2009, effective October 1, 2009).
COVERAGE
Interstate support requirements.- Wages or salaries derived from within Montana may be withheld to pay child support if a support order of another state is registered (Sec. 40-5-411). If an order is issued by a public agency of another state to enforce support orders, the agency may register the income withholding order with the Department of Public Health and Human Services. The order then will be treated in the same manner and have the same effect as an income withholding order issued by the department (Sec. 40-5-431). A tribunal of Montana will enforce multiple registrations or petitions for enforcement of two or more support orders for the same individual as it would enforce multiple orders issued in Montana (Sec. 40-5-152).
Uniform Interstate Family Support Act.- Effective October 1, 1997, an income withholding order issued in another state may be sent to the employer of the person owing support under the income withholding laws of Montana without first filing a petition or comparable pleading or registering the order with a Montana tribunal (Sec. 40-5-157(1), as amended by S. 171, L. 2001, effective April 23, 2001).
Upon receipt of an income withholding order, an employer must immediately provide a copy of the order to the affected employee (Sec. 40-5-157(2), as amended by S. 171, L. 2001, effective April 23, 2001).
The employer must treat an income withholding order issued in another state that appears regular on its face as if it had been issued by a Montana tribunal (Sec. 40-5-157(2), as amended by S. 171, L. 2001, effective April 23, 2001).
Except as provided below, the employer must withhold the funds and distribute the funds as directed in the order by complying with the terms of the order that specify (Sec. 40-5-157(3), as amended by S. 171, L. 2001, effective April 23, 2001):
the duration and the amount of periodic payments of current child support, stated as a sum certain;
the person or agency designated to receive payments and the address to which the payments are to be forwarded;
medical support, whether in the form of periodic cash payment, stated as a sum certain, or by ordering the employee to provide health insurance coverage for the child under a policy available through employment;
the amount of periodic payments of fees and costs for a support enforcement agency, the issuing tribunal, and the other parent's attorney, stated as sums certain; and
the amount of periodic payments of arrears and interest on arrears, stated as sums certain.
An employer must comply with the law of the state of the employee's principal place of employment for withholding from income with respect to (Sec. 40-5-157(4), as amended by S. 171, L. 2001, effective April 23, 2001):
the employer's fee for processing an income withholding order;
the maximum amount permitted to be withheld from the employee's income; and
the times within which the employer must implement the order and forward the child support payment.
An employer who receives multiple income withholding orders with respect to the earnings of the same employee satisfies the terms of the orders if the employer complies with the law of the state of the employee's principal place of employment to establish the priorities for withholding and allocating income withheld for multiple child support obligees (Sec. 40-5-157(5), as amended by S. 171, L. 2001, effective April 23, 2001).
An employer who complies with an income withholding order issued in another state as described above is not subject to civil liability to an individual or agency with regard to the employer's withholding of child support from the employee's income (Sec. 40-5-157(6), as amended by S. 171, L. 2001, effective April 23, 2001).
An employer who willfully fails to comply with an income withholding order issued by another state and received for enforcement is subject to the same penalties that may be imposed for noncompliance with an order issued by a Montana tribunal (Sec. 40-5-157(7), as amended by S. 171, L. 2001, effective April 23, 2001).
WHAT THE EMPLOYER MUST DO
Payment amounts.- The amount of money to be deducted each pay period from the employee's income is (Sec. 40-5-309, as amended by Ch. 552 (S. 374), L. 1997, effective July 1, 1997):
the amount necessary to pay current installments of child support as they become due and payable, plus the amount that, when deducted in equal amounts each pay period, will pay off all outstanding child support payments delinquent within two years; or
not less than 25 percent of the employee's disposable earnings.
The total amount deducted may not exceed the federal limit (Sec. 40-5-309, as amended by Ch. 552 (S. 374), L. 1997, effective July 1, 1997).
The maximum deduction from aggregate disposable earnings for child support may not exceed 50 percent of the employee's disposable income for that week if he or she is supporting a spouse and dependent child, other than the spouse or dependent child for whom the order is issued, or 60 percent if the employee is not supporting a spouse or children. The amounts above will be increased to 55 percent and 65 percent if the earnings are garnished to enforce an order for maintenance or support for a period prior to the 12-week period that ends with the beginning of the work week (Sec. 25-13-614).
Fees charged by employers.- The employer may charge a fee not to exceed $5.00 per deduction that the employer may deduct from the employee's income for the expense of administering the deduction (Sec. 40-5-309, as amended by Ch. 552 (S. 374), L. 1997, effective July 1, 1997; and Sec. 40-5-416).
Medical support orders.- Upon receipt of a medical support order or an order requiring enrollment of a child pursuant to Montana law, an employer providing a health benefit plan must withhold from the obligated parent's income an amount equal to the required premium, if any, and apply the withheld amount to the plan premium, except that amounts withheld may not exceed the maximum amount permitted under the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act. If the premium exceeds the maximum, the employer may not withhold the excess. If the total cost of the premium and child support to be withheld for current support and arrears exceeds the maximum amount permitted under the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act, the current child support and the full cost of the premium have priority before the arrears. If the total cost of the premium and current support exceed the amount of permissible garnishment, the current support and arrears take priority over the premium up to the maximum amount permitted under the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act. The employer may not withhold the part of the premium that is in excess of the maximum (Sec. 40-5-813, as amended by Ch. H. 216, L. 2005, effective April 28, 2005).
A medical support order or an order requiring enrollment of the child pursuant to Montana law has priority over garnishment of the income of the obligated parent for any purpose, except child support (Sec. 40-5-813, as amended by H. 216, L. 2005).
Break in service.- The employer must continue withholding premiums when an obligated parent resumes employment following any break in service, layoff, leave of absence, or other similar circumstances (Sec. 40-5-813, as amended by H. 216, L. 2005).
Upon the termination of employment, extended layoff, or any other break in service that causes coverage under a health benefit plan to cease, the employer must immediately notify the other parent and the Department of Public Health and Human Services or the third-party custodian if either submitted the medical support order, order requiring enrollment of the child pursuant to Montana law, or a written notice of interest to the plan (Sec. 40-5-813, as amended by H. 216, L. 2005).
Retaliation.- An employer may not discharge, refuse to employ, or take other disciplinary action against an obligated parent solely because of the issuance of a medical support order or an order requiring enrollment of the child pursuant to Montana law (Sec. 40-5-813, as amended by H. 216, L. 2005).
Retaliation.- An employer may not discharge, discipline, or refuse to hire an individual because the person has a child support obligation or the institution of an income withholding order (Sec. 40-5-422).
Priority.- An order for income deduction to pay for child support takes precedence over any assignment of income, voluntary deductions from the employee's income, and other court-ordered garnishment of income (Sec. 40-5-310, as amended by Ch. 552 (S. 374), L. 1997, effective July 1, 1997).
When there is more than one order for withholding against an employee, the employer must comply with the orders in the sequence in which they were served and must honor all orders to the extent that the total amount withheld from wages or salary does not exceed the federal or state limits (Sec. 40-5-421, as amended by Ch. 552 (S. 374), L. 1997, effective July 1, 1997).
An order for child support takes priority over any wage or income deduction order under any other state law and any income withholding order issued in another state and sent to an employer in Montana; voluntary or involuntary assignment of wages; other voluntary deductions from the employee's income; levies, writs of execution, or garnishments of income; and any other claims by creditors (Sec. 40-5-423, as amended by Ch. 552 (S. 374), L. 1997, effective July 1, 1997).
Public employees.- Money, credits, or other property belonging to or due and owing to another that is under the control of a public officer or board, including all officers or boards, may be attached or garnished by making service on the clerk of the county, chair of the board of county commissioners, city clerk, mayor of a municipal corporation, clerk of the board of school trustees, or chair of such board (Sec. 27-18-406).
Multiple support orders.- An employer may combine all amounts from more than one employee for whom the employer is withholding under support orders and send in a single payment for the month with the portion attributed to each employee separately designated (Sec. 40-5-421, as amended by Ch. 552 (S. 374), L. 1997, effective July 1, 1997).
NOTICE
Notification to employer.- An order for deduction from income for child support will state the action involved, the total amount of back child support due and the amount of each court-ordered installment, the amount to be deducted from the employee's income and the amount, if any, allowed to the employer as a fee for handling the deduction, the length of time the order is to remain in effect, if ascertainable, and the name and address of the person or entity to whom the deduction is to be paid (Sec. 40-5-308, as amended by Ch. 552 (S. 374), L. 1997, effective July 1, 1997).
Termination of employment.- The employer must promptly notify the Department of Public Health and Human Services of the termination of an employee's employment or other source of income and provide the employee's last known address and the name and address of the new employer or other source of income, if known (Sec. 40-5-421, as amended by Ch. 552 (S. 374), L. 1997, effective July 1, 1997).
Medical support orders: Break in service.- See WHAT THE EMPLOYER MUST DO, above).
DEADLINES
An employer who has been served with an order to withhold and deliver income must deduct the amount designated no later than the first pay period that occurs after service of the order. The employer, within seven working days of the date the employee is paid, must promptly deliver the amount withheld to the Department of Public Health and Human Services as directed by the order or in accordance with any subsequent modification of the order received from the department. The employer must include with the payment a statement indicating the date the amount was withheld from the employee's income (Sec. 40-5-421, as amended by Ch. 552 (S. 374), L. 1997, effective July 1, 1997).
WHO TO CONTACT
The state child support enforcement office may be contacted at: Child Support Enforcement Division, Department of Public Health and Human Services, P.O. Box 202943, 3075 N. Montana Ave., Helena, MT 59601. Telephone: 1-800-346-KIDS (in Montana); (406) 444-9855. Fax: (406) 444-1370.
PENALTIES
An employer who discharges, disciplines, or refuses to hire an employee because of an income withholding order may be fined between $150 and $500 and may be required to make full restitution to the employee, including back pay and reinstatement (Sec. 40-5-422).
An employer who fails to withhold and deliver support money from income when so ordered is liable to the Department of Public Health and Human Services for any amount up to the accumulated amount the employer should have withheld and delivered. Compliance with the deduction and forwarding releases the employer from liability to the employee or other person claiming rights from the employee (Sec. 40-5-424).
An employer who is compelled by a support order to withhold income and who fails to comply may be held in contempt each time the employer fails to withhold income and pay it to the department (Sec. 40-5-226, as amended by Ch. 552 (S. 374), L. 1997, effective July 1, 1997).
Medical support orders.- An employer knowingly violating Sec. 40-5-813 of Montana's Medical Support Reform Act is subject to the contempt powers of the tribunal issuing the medical support order or the order requiring enrollment of a child pursuant to Montana law. The tribunal may, in addition, impose a civil penalty of not more than $150 (Sec. 40-5-813, as amended by H. 216, L. 2005, effective April 28, 2005).
In addition to any other penalty provided by Montana's Medical Support Reform Act, a tribunal, after a hearing, may impose a civil penalty not to exceed $25 for each day that a health benefit plan, employer, union or other payor is found to have knowingly violated a medical support order or a provision of or a rule adopted under Montana's Medical Support Reform Act (Sec. 40-5-821, as amended by Ch. 42 (S. 36), L. 1997, effective March 12, 1997).
<p>In addition to any other penalty provided by Montana's Medical Support Reform Act, a tribunal, after a hearing, may impose a civil penalty not to exceed $25 for</p>
/resources/state_laws/montana/montana_child_support_enforcement_law_summaries.aspx