Rule 5:7-10. Suspension Provisions of Child Support Orders

(a) Applicability This rule is applicable to all orders and judgments that include child support provisions. "Suspension of enforcement" of a provision of an order means that judicial enforcement of such provision temporarily ceases until further order of the court. Except as provided by law, the trial court, in its discretion, may enter an order: (1) temporarily suspending enforcement of provisions of an existing child support order; this references only judicial enforcement, meaning that no bench warrants will issue, the case will not be listed for enforcement action, and no relief to litigant proceedings under R. 1:10-3 will be instituted until further order of the court; or (2) temporarily suspending specifically identified enforcement mechanisms, such as judicial enforcement and income withholding, of provisions of an existing child support order; or (3) temporarily suspending all support provisions of an existing order, including the charging and enforcement of current support and enforcement of past due obligations, until further order of the court; or (4) temporarily suspending the current support obligation only, but allowing enforcement of past due obligations to continue until further order of the court.

(b) Scope Orders entered by the court under this rule that contain provisions for suspension of enforcement, shall not be scheduled for enforcement hearings, no bench warrants shall issue, and no relief to litigant proceedings under R. 1:10-3 shall be instituted until further order of the court. Unless otherwise specified in the order, all other enforcement remedies, including, but not limited to, income withholding, automatic entry of judgments, tax offset, license suspension, credit agency reporting, Financial Institution Data Match (FIDM), lottery intercepts, passport denial, and Child Support Lien Network (CSLN) intercepts, shall continue unless the court directs otherwise.

(c) Review The court shall review suspension provisions of the order 60 days from the date of the order, and every 60 days thereafter, unless the court directs otherwise. A child support case under the supervision of the Probation Division that contains a suspension of enforcement provision shall be listed by Probation for a hearing every 60 days if there has been no activity on the case, unless the court directs otherwise.