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County Attorney - Child Support - Enforcement

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1. How do I get my order enforced?

Either party (custodial parent or non-custodial parent) may ask for enforcement services by filling out an application for services. The application may be obtained from the Nebraska Child Support Customer Call Center at 402-441-8715 or 877-631-9973 (toll-free) or online

2. What types of enforcement actions are there?

There are many types of enforcement actions that may be utilized to coerce compliance with the child support order. There are both Administrative and Legal actions. Administrative actions may include: Real Estate Liens, Driver's License Suspension, Notice to Withhold Income, Professional License Suspension, Recreational License Suspension, Lottery Intercept, and State and Federal Tax Intercept. Legal actions may include: Garnishment, Criminal Contempt, and Orders to Show Cause.

3. Can I choose what type of enforcement is used by your office?

No, if you choose to have the County Attorney's Office enforce your case, it is the discretion of the office to use the most appropriate tool or tools available for enforcement.

4. What is a garnishment, asset seizure or administrative attachment?

Each process results in the person responsible for paying child support having property taken to pay the outstanding child support balance. There may be costs involved in the process and these costs may be deducted from the amount of money recovered by the process.

5. What happens if the person responsible for paying child support dies before the arrearage is paid?

The child support enforcement case will remain open until the payor has been deceased a minimum of eighteen months and no other action, including a levy against the estate, may be taken.

6. Can your office enforce visitation?

Nebraska law does not provide the Lancaster County Attorney’s Office the authority to enforce custody, visitation, daycare, or property settlement judgments.

7. What is an Order to Show Cause?

An Order to Show Cause is a court action filed in the District Court in an effort to gain compliance and enforce the Court Order. The person that is disobeying the court order is served with an Order to Show Cause and ordered to appear before the Court to show cause as to why (s)he should not be held in contempt of the court for willfully disobeying the court's order to pay child support.  If the judge finds that person is in contempt, the judge will sentence that person to a jail sentence; but will allow him/her a chance to be released from jail by following a purge plan. A purge plan gives the person an opportunity to come into compliance with the court order.    

A contempt action may be ended by the person coming into compliance with the court order by one of the following: paying the past due child support balance in full, paying consistently for a period of time, or a finding by the District Court. Due to the possibility of up to 6 months in jail, per case, the non-payor may be eligible for a court appointed attorney if (s)he cannot afford to hire an attorney.  

8. What is a real estate lien?

Nebraska law provides for an automatic lien to be filed with the Register of Deeds office on property owned by a person responsible for paying child support. This lien remains on the property until sold or until the child support is paid in full. This lien is not filed by the Lancaster County Attorney and our office is unable to assist in placing or removing the lien with the Register of Deeds.

9. How does the driver's license of the person responsible for paying child support get suspended?

When the person responsible for paying child support fails to pay and the past due balance exceeds three months of child, medical, or spousal support, the process may be initiated to suspend that person's license. Recreational licenses and professional licenses may also be suspended following the same procedures. All three types of licenses may be suspended, but the process for each must occur consecutively, the licenses cannot be taken all at the same time.

10. How does the person responsible for paying support reinstate their license if it is suspended for non-payment of support?

The person responsible may have his/her license reinstated by one of the following: paying all of the past due child, medical, or spousal support; entering into a court ordered payment plan (Purge Plan) to meet the current obligation each month plus an additional amount to be paid on the past due balance; or entering into a payment plan with the Lancaster County Attorney's Office. Once the license has been reinstated, there is a reinstatement fee that will need to be paid to the Department of Motor Vehicles.

11. What do I do if I receive a Notice of Intent to Suspend my driver’s license?

Contact the Nebraska Child Support Customer Call Center at (402) 441-8715 or (877) 631-9973 (toll free).

12. If taxes are intercepted, who will receive the payment?

Payments received by the tax intercept program are applied to any debt owed to the State of Nebraska. If there is a remaining amount available after the State is paid, and there is a balance owed to the custodial parent, the remaining taxes would be applied. If there is no remaining balance owed to the custodial parent, the additional money received would be refunded to the party responsible to pay the child support.

13. How long does the intercepted payment take to be applied to my account?

The timeframe for intercepted payments to be credited to a case varies widely and may range anywhere from a few weeks to up to six months from the time the refund is intercepted.

14. If I disagree with having my taxes intercepted, who do I call?

Call the Nebraska Child Support Customer Call Center, tax intercept program at (402) 441-8715 or (877) 631-9973 (toll free).

15. What happens to the enforcement of the child support order if the person responsible for paying the support moves from the State of Nebraska?

The State of Nebraska may continue to enforce the order. In some situations, if the location of the person responsible for paying support is known, the Nebraska order may be sent to the Child Support Office in the jurisdiction (location) the person moved to so the order can be enforced.

16. How long does it take to send a case from Nebraska to another state if the person responsible to pay child support moves from Nebraska?

The processing time varies depending on the facts of the case and the information the office has regarding the person responsible. Generally, the more information provided to the enforcement agency, the quicker the process will be to send the order for enforcement.

17. How do I receive my monthly child support payment if the person responsible for paying child support is paying the support ordered amount in another state?

The enforcing state will forward all payments received from the person responsible to the Nebraska Child Support Payment Center to be disbursed to the receiving person(s) in Nebraska.

18. What law is applied to my order if it is sent to another state for enforcement?

If the order was entered in Nebraska, the laws of the State of Nebraska apply to the order in regard to the amount of support, age of emancipation, and amount of interest that would accrue on the past due balance. However, specifics of which enforcement actions can be utilized and timelines for enforcing would be subject to the local laws of the state handling the enforcement.

19. What happens to the enforcement of the child support order if the receiving parent moves from the State of Nebraska?

Enforcement would continue as it did prior to the receiving parent moving out of state. The receiving parent needs to maintain a current address with the enforcing agency so that payments can be sent to the new address.

20. What happens to the enforcement of child support if the person responsible for paying child support is activated to military duty?

Depending on the length of the activation, child support may be deducted from the military pay of the person responsible. The person responsible may make arrangements to have the obligation paid from his/her bank account or have another person pay the obligation in his/her absence.

21. What happens if the person responsible for paying child support enters into bankruptcy while there is an ongoing monthly payment due?

The Bankruptcy Code determines whether child support may be enforced while the person responsible for paying child support is in the protection of the bankruptcy filing.

22. What happens if the person responsible for paying child support enters into bankruptcy when the monthly support order stopped but there is still an outstanding balance due?

The Bankruptcy Code determines whether child support payments may be collected while the person responsible is in the protection of the bankruptcy filing.

23. Can child, medical, or spousal support arrears be discharged or forgiven by filing bankruptcy?

No. Child, medical, and spousal support are not generally discharged in bankruptcy. There are specific rules and laws that govern the bankruptcy process.