Compilation of Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia › Department 290 - RULES OF DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES › Chapter 290-7 - OFFICE OF CHILD SUPPORT RECOVERY › Subject 290-7-1 - RECOVERY AND ADMINISTRATION OF CHILD SUPPORT › Rule 290-7-1-.17 - Liens and Levies

Current through Rules and Regulations filed
				through June 27, 2024
(a) The Department is authorized to file a
				notice of lien against the real and personal property of any obligor who
				resides in or owns property in the state and owes past-due child support. Liens
				against personal property other than personal property subject to a certificate
				of title, shall be filed with the office of the Secretary of State. Upon the
				filing of the notice, a lien arises by operation of law.
(b) The Department has the authority to levy
				and seize a deposit or account (meaning a demand deposit account, checking or
				negotiable order of withdrawal account, savings account, time deposit account,
				or a money market mutual fund account) of any obligor who is in arrears in an
				amount equal to at least the support payment for one month from any financial
				institution (meaning every federal or state-chartered commercial or savings
				bank, including savings and loan associations and cooperative banks, federal or
				state­chartered credit unions, benefit associations, insurance companies,
				safe-deposit companies, trust companies, and any money market mutual
				fund).
(c) If the child support
				order contains notice that the obligor is subject to the provisions of O.C.G.A.
				§§ 19-11-32 through
				19-11-39, or the Department has
				previously sent the obligor a notice by regular mail to the last known address
				of the obligor referencing these same code sections, further notice is not
				required prior to levying on the deposit or account.
(d) At the time the notice of levy is sent to
				the financial institution, the Department must notify the obligor and any
				obligee a notice of the impending levy via a writing containing the warnings
				required by O.C.G.A. §
				19-11-36.
(e) An obligor or an account holder of
				interest wishing to contest the levy must send the Department a written
				challenge within ten business days of the date of the notice to the obligor.
				The obligor or any account holder of interest who makes a timely challenge to
				the levy under this Rule is entitled to a hearing in the superior court in
				which the underlying support order was entered or registered.
(f) The Department may reverse the levy prior
				to such hearing if its internal review following receipt of the challenge
				indicates that a mistake in identity has occurred or the obligor is not
				delinquent in an amount equal to the payment for one month.
(g) The Department is also authorized to
				assert liens against any tangible and intangible property, whether real or
				personal, and any interest in property, whether legal or equitable, belonging
				to the obligor. Any property acquired by the obligor after the child support
				lien arises shall also be subject to such lien. The Department is further
				authorized to offset against worker's compensation awards and lottery
				winnings.
(h) The state IV-D agency
				of another state may determine that a noncustodial parent holds assets in a
				financial institution doing business in the State of Georgia. Full faith and
				credit shall be given to liens arising from any judicial or administrative
				action in another state or foreign jurisdiction. That state IV-D agency may
				send the levy directly to the financial institution in Georgia asking that it
				surrender the funds directly to that state IV-D agency. If the financial
				institution refuses to do so, the state IV-D agency may then send a UIFSA
				enforcement transmittal to the Department for enforcement.
(i) If it is determined that the noncustodial
				parent in a Georgia case holds assets in a financial institution outside of
				Georgia, the Department may send the levy directly to the financial institution
				doing business in that state or foreign jurisdiction. A request shall be made
				that the funds be surrendered to the Department. However, if the financial
				institution refuses to remit the money or the obligor does not reside within
				Georgia and wishes to challenge the intergovernmental levy, the Department
				shall release the levy and send a UIFSA enforcement transmittal to the IV-D
				agency of the state or foreign jurisdiction where the obligor
				resides.
O.C.G.A. §§
				  19-11-18,
				  19-11-30.2 through
				  19-11-37.