[First Reprint]

ASSEMBLY, No. 78

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION

By Assemblyman KAVANAUGH, Assemblywoman CRECCO

and Assemblyman Corodemus

An Act concerning alimony and supplementing chapter 17 of Title 2A of the New Jersey Statutes.

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

    1. Every complaint, notice or pleading for the entry or modification of an order of a court entered or modified for alimony or maintenance shall include a written notice to the obligor stating that the order shall be enforced by an income withholding upon the current or future income due from the obligor's employer or successor employers and against debts, income, trust funds, profits or income from any other source due the obligor except as provided in section 2 of this act.

    The court shall ensure that in the case of each obligor against whom an alimony or maintenance order is or has been issued or modified, the obligor's income shall be withheld to comply with the order. An amount shall be withheld to pay the alimony or maintenance obligation and it shall include an amount to be applied toward liquidation of arrearages reduced to judgments. The income withholding provisions shall also be applicable to all orders issued on or before the effective date of this act.

    2. The income withholding shall be initiated by the ¹[probation department of the county in which the obligor resides] Probation Division of the Superior Court¹, immediately after the court order has been issued; except that immediate withholding shall not apply in those cases in which the obligor and obligee agree in writing to an alternative arrangement or the obligor or obligee demonstrates, and the court finds, good cause for establishing an alternative arrangement. If an immediate withholding is not ordered due to the above exceptions, the income withholding shall be initiated when the obligor has failed to make a required alimony or maintenance payment that has arrearages accrued equal to the amount payable for 14 days. Subject to the provisions of this act, the income withholding shall take effect without amendment to the alimony or maintenance order or further court or quasi-judicial action and without regard to any alternative arrangements entered into by the parties.

    The total amount of income to be withheld shall not exceed the maximum amount permitted under section 303(b) of the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act (15 U.S.C. § 1673(b)). The income withholding shall be carried out in full compliance with all procedural due process requirements. The Administrative Office of the Courts shall establish procedures for promptly terminating the withholding when necessary and for promptly refunding amounts which have been improperly withheld.

    3. This act shall take effect immediately.

Provides for payment of alimony by income withholding.