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Video Transcribed: Collecting child support through an IRS tax refund intercept. I’m Oklahoma attorney James Wirth and we’re about to talk to you about how to collect child support obligation from a tax return to the obligor.
All right, so there’s a lot of different ways that you could go about collecting child support in Oklahoma. Some ways it’s good to have a private attorney, other ways it actually requires DHS be involved.
So when you want to go after somebody’s tax return, that does require that the state agency, Child Support Services with DHS be involved. There has to be an open case and some benefits have to have been provided. So if TANF benefits are being provided, or SoonerCare is provided, you’ve got an open case.
Then if there’s an arrearage of at least $150 and TANF is involved, or at least $500 in arrearages on child support, and it’s a SoonerCare case, then DHS can make the request to the federal government to withhold somebody’s tax return and send it to you.
It would go to DHS, they would give them credit for it on the record of payment, and then they would forward those funds to you minus the reimbursement that they’re entitled to.
So DHS has to be involved, there has to be some nominal amount in back due child support either $150 or $500, depending on the services DHS is providing, they send it off to the federal government, and from what DHS representatives have told me.
They send it off to the feds doesn’t mean that they’re actually going to do it. They frequently do, but sometimes they let it fall through the cracks. There’s not a lot that can be done on that.
Your private attorney can help with coordinating with DHS and making the request that that be done, but the request cannot be put through by you or by your attorney.
It actually has to be DHS Child Support Services that put in that request. Once they do, if they implement it and the obligor is getting a substantial tax return, it’s going to be intercepted.
Sometimes we have it happen where the obligor is remarried and has the spouse on the taxes and they’re getting that tax return as well. Doesn’t matter.
If they filed jointly and they’re on there, it’s going to get intercepted. If they file separately, then it’s going to get intercepted.
So either way it could be a good way to collect taxes, but DHS has to be involved. If you have questions about your specific circumstances in collecting child support, you can contact somebody at my office. We’ll see if we can help you out. Go to makelaweasy.com.
