Garnishment to Pay Child Support or Maintenance

Criteria for Garnishment to Pay Child Support or Maintenance

If the court ordered someone to pay you child support and/or maintenance, but that person is not paying you the money, you can go after that person's wages or other earnings by filing garnishment paperwork with the court.

Money can then be taken out of the person's paycheck and paid to you. There is a limit on the amount of money that can be taken out of each paycheck. A certain amount of money will be taken out of each paycheck until the total amount due is paid.

How to Start a Case

You will file your paperwork with the same court where the case awarding you child support and/or maintenance is located. You will also use the same case number.

First, you need to determine where the person who owes you child support and/or maintenance works. If you already have this information, you can skip this step.

If you do not know where the person who owes you child support and/or maintenance works, see Rule 69(d) of the Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure for information on how to send questions to the person who owes you child support/maintenance, which they are required to answer.

Forms and Paperwork Required

Use the forms link above to download and complete the Garnishment to Pay Child Support or Maintenance forms. For detailed instructions on how to fill out these forms, review JDF 82 How to Collect on a Judgment.

Paperwork Tips

You and the person who owes you money will have the same "identities" to the court as you did in the original case where the court awarded you the money. For example, if you were the Plaintiff or Petitioner in the original case, you will be the Plaintiff or Petitioner when you file this paperwork.

You will use the same case number from your original case.

If the person who owes you child support and/or maintenance does not pay when a payment is due, a money judgment is automatically entered against that person. Before you can file garnishment paperwork to collect the money, you must first fill out and file JDF 1813 Verified Entry of Support Judgment with the court. There is no filing fee to file this form.

If you are owed child support and/or maintenance, you are referred to as the Judgment Creditor. The person who owes you child support and/or maintenance is referred to as the Judgment Debtor. The employer of the person who owes you child support and/or maintenance is known as the Garnishee.

Fill out lines 1 - 5 at the top of Form 31 Writ of Garnishment for Support and sign below line 5. You must sign this form in front of a notary public or court clerk. You can find a notary public by looking in the Yellow Pages, on the Internet, or by going to your local bank.

How to Submit Paperwork to the Court

1. Take your completed Form 31 Writ of Garnishment for Support to the clerk at the counter in the courthouse. Give the form to the clerk to file your case.
2. After you file Form 31 Writ of Garnishment for Support, the clerk at the court will sign and issue the Writ back to you after you pay a filing fee. If you do not think you can afford the filing fee, fill out form JDF 205 Motion to File Without Payment and Supporting Financial Affidavit and JDF 206 Finding and Order Concerning Payment of Fees to request a waiver of the filing fee, or visit our File Without Payment section for complete information.

Arrange to Serve the Paperwork on the Garnishee

After you file Form 31 Writ of Garnishment for Support, and the court signs and issues the Writ back to you, you must arrange to deliver a copy of Form 31 Writ of Garnishment for Support and two blank copies of Form 27 Calculation of the Amount of Exempt Earnings to the employer of the person who owes you child support and/or maintenance (the Garnishee).

The process of having these forms delivered is known as personal service. Self-Help Service of Process will help you understand how to arrange for personal service and how to return proof of service to the court.

What Happens Next?

After you serve Form 31 Writ of Garnishment for Support and two blank copies of Form 27 Calculation of the Amount of Exempt Earnings on the employer of the person who owes you child support and/or maintenance, the employer will fill out their portion of these forms and send them to you and to the court between 7 and 14 days after the next time the person who owes you money gets paid.

A portion of the wages of the person who owes you child support and/or maintenance will be paid to you unless they are "exempt". If any portion of the wages are exempt, they will be listed on Form 27 Calculation of the Amount of Exempt Earnings.

Satisfaction of Judgment

Once the person who owes you child support and/or maintenance pays you any arrears amount owed in full, fill out and file JDF 111 Satisfaction of Judgment with the court. This will let the court know that you have been paid the full arrears amount that you were owed. You must sign this form in front of a notary public or court clerk. You can find a notary public by looking in the Yellow Pages, on the Internet, or by going to your local bank.