Payments to Court: Designated Officers in Family Law Cases

Division 9, Part 3, Chapter 4 deals with payments to court-designated officers and enforcement by the district attorney in spousal support cases.

Section 4350 provides that, in any proceeding where a court makes or has made an order requiring the payment of spousal support, the court may direct that payment is to be made to the county officer designated by the court for that purpose.

Section 4351 states that, in a proceeding where the court has entered an order, the court may also refer the matter of enforcement of the spousal support order to the local child support agency. The local child support agency may bring those enforcement proceedings it determines to be appropriate.

In addition, where the local child support agency is required to appear on behalf of a welfare recipient in a proceeding to enforce an order requiring payment of child support, the local child support agency can also enforce any order requiring payment to the welfare recipient of spousal support that is in arrears.

This section does not prohibit the district attorney or the local child support agency from bringing an action or initiating process to enforce or punish the failure to obey an order for spousal support under any law that empowers the district attorney or the local child support agency to bring an action or initiate a process, whether or not there has been a referral by the court pursuant to this chapter.

Section 4352 states that, where expenses of the county officer designated by the court and expenses of the local child support agency incurred in the enforcement of an order referred by the court under this chapter exceed any service charge imposed, the expenses are a charge upon the county where the proceedings are pending.