Wage withholding Wage withholding is mandatory in all child support orders entered in IV-D cases. The trial court did not have discretion to allow plaintiff to make direct payments to defendant mother even though he did not have a history of nonpayment, or of erratic payments, and no arrears were owed, where mother was represented in the action by the IV-D child support agency. Price v. New Hanover County Child Support, intervenor, o/b/o Murray-Price, unpublished opinion, 909 S.E.2d 805 (N.C. App., December 31, 2024). The intervenor child support agency appealed the trial court’s order that plaintiff father’s child support obligation could be paid directly to mother rather than being subject to wage withholding. The trial court made findings that father had paid timely support to mother in the past, did not make erratic payments in the past, and did not owe arrears. 



The court of appeals vacated the order and remanded the case to the trial court, holding that three statutes, GS 110-136.3(a), 110-136.3(b)(1), and 110-136.4(b), and case law provides that when a IV-D agency is involved in the child support case, wage withholding is mandatory.