Who gets paid first?Ex's Real estate Broker or Child Support Obligation?

Question

My ex is a realtor but owes approx $5000 in back support. The law in our state states that the state may only take 50% of his check max, so which do you think would happen:

(A) The commission is $10,000 total and the broker is entitled to 30% and back support is owed $5000.
$10,000 Starting Amount
- $ 3,000 Brokers cut
- $5,000 Child Support
------------------------------------
Amount left $2000 = for ex

OR

(B) The commission is $10,000 total and the broker is entitled to 30% and back support is owed $5000.
$10,000 Starting Amount
- $ 3,000 Brokers cut
- $2,000 Child Support Max amount
_______
Amount left = $5,000 to ex
(to leave 50% for ex since the max withholding is 50%)
50% = $5,000 = Amount of check he is entitled to keep.

I am not sure who gets 1st dibbs. He has a contract with his broker. He could pay extra from his personal checking acct. but I doubt it would have anything in it!

Child Support Officers please help!

C.Support knows he is possibly going to make a rather large check soon. So instead of the usual $535 per month, they have raised it to $535 + $1465 in arrears($2000 total). I now am sure the broker will get his cut first but he was garnished last month for $1100. We'll see how it goes. I have delt with his ways for 10 years now and I am not expecting anything. I never allow myself to count on a dime from him! It is a rather large company so I think he is paid from the company.

Answer 1

"Who gets paid first? Ex's Real estate Broker or Child Support Obligation?"

The quick answer to your question is "The broker gets paid first."

Let's assume it works the way you've described (and I have my doubts about that-- as explained below).

If the commission check is paid to an employer who has been given an order to withhold income for child support, then it's likely that the employer will also be the one to pay the broker his commission out of that check and issue your ex a paycheck after the fact. Consequently, of that $10,000 amount, your ex will receive a net pay of $7,000-- and his employer would be obligated to withhold up to the legal limit-- or $3,500 from it to be sent to the child support enforcement agency.

However, I have my doubts that it will work that way (and you haven't supplied enough facts to know otherwise). Many Realtors are self-employed and do not receive checks through an employer who has been given an order to withhold income for child support. Often there is some other distribution that takes place. Even still, your ex is entitled to deduct the broker's fee (and might even be entitled to reduce the paycheck amount by other costs incidental to the transaction) before he calculates the amount he'll pay you from it.

The problem is, most orders to withhold income are not stated in percentage amounts. Usually there is a regular child support amount stated in a fixed dollar figure that corresponds to a certain percentage of the obligor's income (say $250 every two weeks). If the obligor has been found by a court to be in arrears, then there might be an additional amount of income withheld to pay an arrearage (say an additional $50 for a total of $300 every two weeks)-- but again, that additional amount is stated as a fixed dollar figure that is usually a percentage of the regular payment (at least 20%).

In other words, your ex is obligated to make a regular support payment with some regular frequency and his employer may have been ordered to deduct that amount from his paycheck and-- if the order to withhold income for support has been amended to include an additional amount to cover his arrearage-- then he's obligated to make an additional payment to help pay some of that arrearage.

If your ex doesn't have an employer who has been ordered to withhold income for child support, then your ex is going to get his commission check and decide-- all by himself-- how much to give you.

Answer 2

who care who gets first dibbs, the real answer your looking for is that you get what child support is owed. The Broker will get his percentage because he has a binding contract. Reguardless of what your ex in entitled to keep, he owes you $5000.00 in child support which he has no say in. Any child support judge would enforce that on him.

Answer 3

Well considering my ex owes about (over) 4 times this much I assume EVERYTHING comes before child support!
Good luck!

Answer 4

my answer is off the top I would make arrangments to pay the child support,especially if you are in arrears, children are the future,
the broker has waited this long if he is humane,he will understand!

Answer 5

child support comes first