When one parent is ordered to pay child support, often the payor of child support would rather write a personal check rather than have an Income Withholding Order ("IWO").
Reasons for writing a personal check to satisfy child support obligations include having the independence to make a payment to the payee when the income becomes available and tracking the support payment.
It is beneficial to set up an account with the State Disbursement Unit (SDU) that will track child support payments in the event of a dispute as the SDU keeps electronic records of any support payment.
Bank statements resulting from a personal check will eventually be archived, with attached costs to retrieve old records or canceled personal checks to prove child support payments were made.
While the SDU will take payments directly from the payor's paycheck, there is always a record of the support payment being made.
As a payor of child support, if the payor is worried about an employer knowing that monthly child support obligations exist, the payor may opt to set up an account with the SDU and still pay the SDU court-ordered child support instead of having the SDU take the income directly from the payor's paycheck.
With this option, the payor of child support still has the autonomy to make child support payments when the income is available, and at the same time keep a record with the SDU of all support payments made.