ENFORCEMENT OF SUPPORT OBLIGATION
CS
806P-1 Notice of Lien-Levy, Financial Institutions - Procedures: Issuing a Lien-Levy
02/98
Revised 09/01/25 Training Completed 09/15/25 Last Reviewed 09/28/26
42 U.S. Code 666; Utah Code
26B-9-101, 104, 205, 208, 214, 215, 81-7-102, 81-8-507; URCP 45; R527-430
Also refer to the related lien-levy sections listed below:
1.
CS 806P Notice of Lien-Levy, Financial
Institutions – Overview;
2.
CS 806P-2 Notice of Lien-Levy, Financial
Institutions – Procedures: Review and Follow-up; and,
3.
CS 806P-3 Notice of Lien-Levy, Financial
Institutions – Intergovernmental Cases.
1.
Determine
if a lien-levy action is appropriate. You may initiate a lien-levy
action if the case meets all of the enforcement criteria listed in CS 801P
General Enforcement. An NCP must owe arrears before a lien-levy action may be
initiated; however, current support due for the month the levy is initiated may
be included in the levy.
2.
Matching
with financial institutions. Determine if the NCP has financial
holdings in a financial institution. For additional information, refer to CS
805P Financial Institution Data Matching for criteria information.
3.
Obtain
information about the NCP’s financial holdings.
If necessary, verify the NCP’s assets held in a financial institution by
sending a “Financial Information Request” to the NCP’s bank, credit union, or
other depository institution (e.g., savings and loan, or mutual funds
institution) or depository institution-affiliated party (e.g., services
provided by a financial data service). The letter asks the financial
institution to release specific information about the account, including the
legal account name, names of joint-owners, types of accounts, and balances.
Verify that the individual you are investigating is in fact the
NCP on the case. Match the name, social security number and address (if known).
NOTE: If the NCP is receiving financial assistance and you discover
a financial account belonging to the NCP, notify DWS of this information.
If the financial institution does not comply with your request for information,
you may generate a “Subpoena Duces Tecum” and the accompanying affidavit to be
signed by your manager. The financial institution may charge a research fee for
production costs associated with the subpoena. Serve the subpoena on the
financial institution by sheriff, constable, or a CSS process server.
If the financial institution refuses
to honor the subpoena, it may be penalized, as follows:
a.
$25.00 for each failure to provide requested information; or,
b.
$500.00 if the failure to provide requested information is the
result of a conspiracy between the entity and the NCP to not supply the
information or to supply false or incomplete information.
Consult with your manager and the
assigned Assistant Attorney General (AAG) about whether to pursue a penalty
against the financial institution when it fails to honor a subpoena.
NOTE: Financial information
received from a financial institution match, either manually or by data
matching, is considered to be “restricted” information. It cannot be disclosed
except when it is used to establish, modify or enforce a child support obligation.
4.
Determine
if the account is subject to lien-levy. The NCP must be able to
immediately access the account in order for the account to be subject to
lien-levy. You may initiate a lien-levy action if the account is one of the
following types:
a.
Savings accounts;
b.
Checking accounts (by exception, see below);
c.
Money market accounts;
d.
Certificates of deposit;
e.
Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs);
f.
Qualified or non-qualified retirement or pension plan accounts;
g.
Keogh Plan accounts;
h.
Employee welfare benefit plan accounts;
i.
Payroll accounts;
j.
Uncollected bank deposits;
k.
Mutual funds;
l.
Dividends;
m.
Some trust accounts (see below); and,
n.
Other amounts generated by brokers, brokerage firms, or investment
companies (such as interest or royalties).
Securities, such as stocks or
bonds, are also subject to lien-levy. The broker or financial institution
should liquidate the stock or bond, or any other type of funds that are not in
cash or other form of liquid asset, into cash for CSS in the same manner they
would have for the NCP, or surrender the asset to CSS in a form that can be
converted into cash (e.g., stock certificate). If the holder of the securities
states that they are unable to liquidate the asset, consult with your
management chain [Manager, Associate Regional Director (ARD), Regional Director
(RD), and CSS Director], who may consult with the assigned AAG.
Contents of safety deposit boxes are
also subject to lien-levy. Consult with your manager and ARD or RD before
levying the contents of a safety deposit box as the contents may need to be
sold at sheriff’s auction if the NCP does not pay off the debt.
In some instances a lien-levy
action, such as a levy on a Certificate of Deposit (CD) account, will result in
a penalty or interest charge due to the early withdrawal of those funds. The
NCP is responsible for paying these charges to the financial institution.
NOTE: If the account contains only
the minimum balance required by the institution to keep the account open (e.g.
many credit unions require $50 in shares to maintain an account), do not levy
on the minimum balance.
The preceding accounts are subject to the CSS lien-levy authority whether
the account is held individually in the name of the NCP, or the account is held
jointly in the name of the NCP and an unobligated joint-owner (or
joint-owners), such as a current spouse.
EXCEPTIONS:
b. Some trust accounts. Before
initiating a lien-levy action on any trust account, determine whether the NCP
has access to the account and if the funds belong to the NCP. If the NCP
receives a regular pay-out or can draw from the account, you may levy the account. If the money is not
available to the NCP, e.g., the NCP does not have access to the money until his
40th birthday, do not levy the account. Also, if you know that the NCP is a
court appointed conservator over funds that belong to another person, do not
levy the account, e.g., the NCP is handling the financial affairs of a parent
who is in a nursing home. Obtain your manager’s approval before initiating a
lien-levy action on a trust account.
c. Checking accounts.
A checking account must contain at least $1,000.00 before it is subject to
lien-levy, and you may only levy on any amounts in excess of $1,000.00 in a
checking account. For example, if the account contains $1,500.00, you may do a
lien-levy for $500.00. If a balance has not been provided, you must verify the
amount in the account before issuing a lien-levy. Your manager and your RD or
ARD must authorize a lien-levy against a checking account before you send the
“Notice of Lien/Levy, Checking Account” form. Your manager must also sign the
form.
d. Business Accounts.
If you find that an NCP has only a
business account (no personal account) and uses the business account for personal
expenses, you may be able to treat
the business account as a personal account for child support purposes. This
stance remains untested in Utah courts, but there is case law in Colorado to
support it. Consult with the assigned AAG on a case-by-case basis and obtain
authorization from your manager and RD or ARD before proceeding.
5.
Generate
and Send the Notice of Lien-Levy and the Concurrent Notice to Non-custodial
parent by taking the steps listed below.
a.
Determine
the type of Lien Levy to generate. Select the “Notice of Lien-Levy,
Savings Account” when you want to attach the NCP’s savings type accounts, or select the “Notice of Lien-Levy, Checking
Account” when you want to attach the NCP’s checking
account.
b.
Add
or update the financial institution to ORSIS.
c.
Generate
the appropriate lien-levy forms packet.
d.
Send
the lien-levy packet. Send the form(s) packet by regular first-class mail to the
branch office where the account is located, unless instructed by the financial institution
to send the notice to another location. If you know the contact name for the
financial institution, send or hand deliver the notice to that person’s
attention (delivery methods may vary by region, check with your manager, ARD or
RD). You may FAX the notice in addition to mailing it. You may also serve the
packet by constable on an emergency basis and with the approval of your
manager.
e.
Notify
the NCP. Send a copy of the Notice of Lien-Levy to the NCP by regular first-class
mail at his/her last known residential address on the same day you send the
notice to the financial institution.
NOTE: If the account does not
contain sufficient funds to pay the past-due support amount in full, and you
later identify other financial account(s) belonging to the NCP, generate and
send a new Notice of Lien-Levy packet, including a new Notice to Obligor of Lien-Levy
form.
f.
Document
your actions. Write a narrative at the case level to document your actions, including justification for levying a
checking account.
6. Automatic Hold on Transaction. When the lien-levy payment is received and posted, ORSIS will automatically place a “hold” on the payment. The hold allows time for the NCP and/or co-owner on a joint account to contest the lien-levy action. ORSIS looks at all the financial institution records for the participant. If the ownership code is “sole” on all financial institutions, a 30-day hold will be set for disbursement. If the ownership code on any financial institution is “joint”, or is not transmitted, a 90-day hold will be set for disbursement. ORSIS will release the hold after the 30 or 90 days have passed. If you want the hold released before the 30 or 90 days have passed (e.g., all issues have been resolved from the review process), the senior agent, manager, ARD, or RD can release the hold. After the hold is released the money will post and distribute according to distribution rules.