§ 110-139.2. Data match system; agreements with financial institutions. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 110‑139.2.  Data match system; agreements withfinancial institutions.

(a)        The Department of Health and Human Services and financialinstitutions doing business in this State shall enter into mutual agreementsfor the purpose of facilitating the enforcement of child support obligations.The agreements shall provide for the development and operation of a data matchsystem that will enable the financial institutions to provide to the Departmenton a quarterly basis the information required under G.S. 110‑139(d).Financial institutions shall provide the information upon certification by theDepartment that the person about whom the information is requested is subjectto a child support order and the information is necessary to enforce the order.The Department may pay a reasonable fee to the financial institution forconducting the data match required under this section provided that the feeshall not exceed the actual costs incurred by the financial institution toconduct the match.

(b)        A financial institution shall not be liable under any Statelaw, including but not limited to Chapter 53B of the General Statutes, fordisclosure of information to the State child support agency under this section,and for any other action taken by the financial institution in good faith tocomply with this section or with G.S. 110‑139.

(b1)      The Department of Health and Human Services Child SupportEnforcement Agency may notify any financial institution doing business in thisState that an obligor who maintains an identified account with the financialinstitution has a child support obligation that may be eligible for levy on theaccount in an amount that satisfies some or all of the amount of unpaid supportowed. In order to be able to attach a lien on and levy an obligor's account,the amount of unpaid support owed shall be an amount not less than the amountof support owed for six months or one thousand dollars ($1,000), whichever isless.

Upon certification of the amount of unpaid support owed in accordancewith G.S. 44‑86(c), the Child Support Agency shall serve or cause to beserved upon the obligor, and when the matched account is owned jointly, anyother nonliable owner of the account, and the financial institution a notice asprovided by this subsection. The notice shall include the name of the obligor,the financial institution where the account is located, the account number ofthe account to be levied to satisfy the lien, the certified amount of unpaidsupport, information for the obligor or account owner on how to remove the lienor contest the lien in order to avoid the levy, and a copy of the applicablelaw, G.S. 110‑139.2. The notice shall be served on the obligor, and anynonliable account owner, in any manner provided in Rule 4 of the North CarolinaRules of Civil Procedure. The financial institution shall be served notice inaccordance with Rule 5 of the North Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure. Uponservice of the notice, the financial institution shall proceed in the followingmanner:

(1)        Immediately attach a lien to the identified account.

(2)        Notify the Child Support Agency of the balance of theaccount and date of the lien or that the account does not meet the requirementfor levy under this subsection.

In order for an obligor or account owner to contest the lien, within 10days after the obligor or account owner is served with the notice, the obligoror account owner shall send written notice of the basis of the contest to theChild Support Agency and shall request a hearing before the district court inthe county where the support order was entered. The obligor account holder maycontest the lien only on the basis that the amount owed is an amount less thanthe amount of support owed for six months, or is less than one thousand dollars($1,000), whichever is less, or the contesting party is not the person subjectto the court order of support. The district court may assess court costsagainst the nonprevailing party. If no response is received from the obligor oraccount owner within 10 days of the service of the notice, the Child SupportAgency shall notify the financial institution to submit payment, up to thetotal amount of the child support arrears, if available. This amount is to beapplied to the debt of the obligor.

A financial institution shall not be liable to any person for complyingin good faith with this subsection. The remedy set forth in this section shallbe in addition to all other remedies available to the State for the reductionof the obligor's child support arrears. This remedy shall not prevent the Statefrom taking any and all other concurrent measures available by law.

This levy procedure is to be available for direct use by all states'child support programs to financial institutions in this State withoutinvolvement of the Department.

(c)        As used in this subdivision, a financial institutionincludes federal, State, commercial, or savings banks, savings and loanassociations and cooperative banks, federal or State chartered credit unions,benefit associations, insurance companies, safe deposit companies, money marketmutual funds, and investment companies doing business in this State orincorporated under the laws of this State. (1997‑433, s. 9; 1997‑443, s. 11A.122; 1998‑17, s. 1;2003‑288, s. 4; 2004‑203, s. 42; 2005‑389, s. 5.)