The Vermont Statutes Online
The Statutes below include the actions of the 2025 session of the General Assembly.
NOTE: The Vermont Statutes Online is an unofficial copy of the Vermont Statutes Annotated that is provided as a convenience.
Subchapter
007
:
CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT
(Cite as: 15 V.S.A. § 789)
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§ 789. Wage withholding exemptions; priorities and limitations
(a) A wage withholding order for a current support obligation or an obligation to pay
support arrearages shall not be subject to Rule 4.2(j) of the Vermont Rules of Civil
Procedure or 12 V.S.A. §§ 3167, 3169, 3170(a), (b) and (d). It shall be subject to section 303(b) of the Consumer Credit Protection
Act (15 U.S.C. § 1673(b)).
(b) A wage withholding order under this chapter shall have priority over other legal process
against the same wages and shall be at least in the amount of the current support
order. A wage withholding order for a current support obligation shall have priority
over periodic payments to be applied to unpaid support arrearages, but shall not preclude
withholding for both. No withholding for an arrearage may occur unless there is available
income which is not exempt under section 303(b) of the Consumer Credit Protection
Act (15 U.S.C. § 1673(b)).
(c) Wage withholding shall cease upon the termination of the obligation to pay current
support or upon the repayment of all arrearages, whichever is later.
(d) If wage withholding is sought for repayment of outstanding arrearages in addition
to support previously ordered, the additional amounts withheld for repayment shall
not exceed twenty-five percent of the obligor’s support obligation existing at the
time of issuance of the wage withholding order.
(e) If arrearages exist after termination of the obligation to pay support, the amount
withheld shall not be reduced until all arrearages are paid in full.
(f) If an obligor’s outstanding arrearage increases by one-twelfth of the annual obligation,
the Office of Child Support may notify an employer to withhold an additional amount
for repayment of any outstanding arrearage that has accumulated since the issuance
of the most recent court order. The total wage withholding for arrearages shall not
exceed 25 percent of the obligor’s support obligation unless an additional amount
is requested by the obligor.
(g) The Office of Child Support shall not notify an employer to withhold an additional
amount under subsection (f) of this section without first notifying the obligor of
its intention to do so at the obligor’s last known address as provided pursuant to
subsection 783(b) of this title and giving the obligor 20 days to contest the withholding pursuant to 33 V.S.A. § 4108 on the grounds the increase would be improper due to a mistake of fact. (Added 1983, No. 222 (Adj. Sess.); amended 1985, No. 63, § 13; 1989, No. 220 (Adj. Sess.), § 9; 1997, No. 63, § 13, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.)