I am trying to determine if there is a way to garnish my ex's wages who is self employed in Ohio. He owes over $30K in child support. He owns a wholesale company (he sells goods (pop/snacks) into stores & to the public). The company has been registered in his name only, but he does have a partner. I can't confirm if he has a bank account, and if he does if it's in his name or his partner’s name. He hasn't filed personal taxes in almost 9 years, and I don't believe he has filed his business taxes either. I have given all of this company information to CSEA and the Courts, but I still can't find a way to collect money from him. We went to court in June because he was picked up on Contempt charges he was court order to pay $1K that day and they would suspend his jail sentence. He did not pay and now we are have a court date to impose the jail sentence this month, but I don't believe he will show up. I am also going after him for non-criminal support felony. If there are ways to enforce him to pay I would like to request those actions from the judge in court this month.

If anyone has advice on how I can't force him to pay it would be greatly appreciated.

If he doesn't show up to his court date for sentencing, a warrant will be issued for his arrest and the sheriff will go find him. It will go much worse on him.

As for garnishing his wages... its impossible to legally garnish something that isn't legal. If you can find an account in his name, chances are you can go after that, but he seems pretty hell bent on hiding... so stay on CS enforcement about staying on top of him. A few stints in jail may convince him otherwise.

But honestly, I would steel yourself to the fact that he is a deadbeat and you may not ever see anything from him.

Thank you for the information. He currently has two warrants for his arrest. 1. for the contempt and non payment, and a second one for the NCS Felony charge. I have called the police dept directly asking them if they can pick him up based on the warranty, and they stated if they had any down time they would, but they couldn't promise a day or time (neither of us live in a bad neighborhood). He was picked up in June on a warranty that was issued in Jan, so it has taken the police dept 6 months to act on the warranty.

There are no wages for self employed. The only way that comes close is a person owns a business and has a " paycheck " from the corperation. Other then that all else is by contract. The only thing you could do is intercept and seizure. Also you could put a lien on the business license if he is on it and he won't be able to renew until it is paid off. If he sells of transfers the company in order to relinquish the debt and its well below market then you could seize the assets of the company while its in transfer.

Frankly, the police will not place a high priority on this, unless CSEA puts pressure on them. So you need to pursue it from that angle.

You might hire a bounty hunter to take him into custody, but that will probably cost a lot more than its worth.

As Steve said, this guy is a deadbeat, and one he seems somewhat skilled at evading the law. I wouldn't expect to get much money from him.