42 U.S.C. § 665: Allotments from pay for child…

Summary

Requires automatic paycheck deductions from active-duty service members who are behind on court-ordered child support or child-and-spouse support by an amount equal to two months or more. An approved state child-support agent, attorney, or the court sends a notice to a military official and to the member saying who should get the money. The deduction equals what the order requires (it can include past-due amounts), but the total taken for support cannot be higher than the limits set in 15 U.S.C. 1673(b) and (c). The authorized person can also tell the service to change or stop the deduction. No deduction may start until the member has an in-person meeting with a judge advocate or other designated legal officer to talk about the case, or until 30 days after the notice if a meeting could not be arranged despite good-faith efforts. Military secretaries must write rules telling which officials get notices, what the notices must contain, and other steps needed to run this process.

Title 42, §665

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(a)Mandatory allotment; notice upon failure to make; amount of allotment; adjustment or discontinuance; consultation

(1)In any case in which child support payments or child and spousal support payments are owed by a member of one of the uniformed services (as defined in section 101(3) of title 37) on active duty, such member shall be required to make allotments from his pay and allowances (under chapter 13 of title 37) as payment of such support, when he has failed to make periodic payments under a support order that meets the criteria specified in section 1673(b)(1)(A) of title 15 and the resulting delinquency in such payments is in a total amount equal to the support payable for two months or longer. Failure to make such payments shall be established by notice from an authorized person (as defined in subsection (b)) to the designated official in the appropriate uniformed service. Such notice (which shall in turn be given to the affected member) shall also specify the person to whom the allotment is to be payable. The amount of the allotment shall be the amount necessary to comply with the order (which, if the order so provides, may include arrearages as well as amounts for current support), except that the amount of the allotment, together with any other amounts withheld for support from the wages of the member, as a percentage of his pay from the uniformed service, shall not exceed the limits prescribed in section 1673(b) and (c) of title 15. An allotment under this subsection shall be adjusted or discontinued upon notice from the authorized person.

(2)Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this subsection, no action shall be taken to require an allotment from the pay and allowances of any member of one of the uniformed services under such provisions (A) until such member has had a consultation with a judge advocate of the service involved (as defined in section 801(13) of title 10), or with a judge advocate (as defined in section 801(11) of such title) in the case of the Coast Guard, or with a legal officer designated by the Secretary concerned (as defined in section 101(5) of title 37) in any other case, in person, to discuss the legal and other factors involved with respect to the member’s support obligation and his failure to make payments thereon, or (B) until 30 days have elapsed after the notice described in the second sentence of paragraph (1) is given to the affected member in any case where it has not been possible, despite continuing good faith efforts, to arrange such a consultation.

(b)“Authorized person” defined

For purposes of this section the term “authorized person” with respect to any member of the uniformed services means—

(1)any agent or attorney of a State having in effect a plan approved under this part who has the duty or authority under such plan to seek to recover any amounts owed by such member as child or child and spousal support (including, when authorized under the State plan, any official of a political subdivision); and

(2)the court which has authority to issue an order against such member for the support and maintenance of a child, or any agent of such court.

(c)Regulations

The Secretary of Defense, in the case of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps, and the Secretary concerned (as defined in section 101(5) of title 37) in the case of each of the other uniformed services, shall each issue regulations applicable to allotments to be made under this section, designating the officials to whom notice of failure to make support payments, or notice to discontinue or adjust an allotment, should be given, prescribing the form and content of the notice and specifying any other rules necessary for such Secretary to implement this section.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

section 801(11) of title 10, referred to in subsec. (a)(2), was repealed by Pub. L. 109–241, title II, § 218(a)(1), July 11, 2006, 120 Stat. 526. However, “judge advocate” is defined elsewhere in that section.

Amendments

2006—Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 109–241 substituted “judge advocate” for “law specialist”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Pub. L. 97–248, title I, § 172(b), Sept. 3, 1982, 96 Stat. 403, provided that: “The amendment made by subsection (a) [enacting this section] shall become effective on October 1, 1982.”

Transfer of Functions

For transfer of authorities, functions, personnel, and assets of the Coast Guard, including the authorities and functions of the Secretary of Transportation relating thereto, to the Department of Homeland Security, and for treatment of related references, see section 468(b), 551(d), 552(d), and 557 of Title 6, Domestic Security, and the Department of Homeland Security Reorganization Plan of November 25, 2002, as modified, set out as a note under section 542 of Title 6.

§665 Allotments From Pay for Child and Spousal Support Owed by Members of Uniformed Services on Active Duty