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<section article="gfl" article_name="Family Law" number="10-123" title_number="10" title_name="Support in General" subtitle_number="1" subtitle_name="Civil and Criminal Enforcement">
  <level label="a">
    <text>Except as otherwise provided for in this section and notwithstanding any other provision of this Part III, a court shall immediately authorize service of an earnings withholding order when:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <level label="i">
        <text>a support order or modification of support order is passed on or after April 9, 1991;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>a case is being enforced by a support enforcement agency; and</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>the recipient or support enforcement agency requests service of an earnings withholding order; or</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>the Maryland Department of Health requests service of an earnings withholding order for court ordered medical support.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="b">
    <text>Except as provided in subsection (d) of this section, for all child support orders that are initially issued in the State on or after January 1, 1994, regardless of whether child support payments are in arrears, a court shall immediately authorize service of an earnings withholding order on the effective date of the order.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="c">
    <text>When a court orders immediate service of an earnings withholding order on or after July 1, 1994, the court shall order payments through the State disbursement unit.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="d">
    <text>A court may not authorize the immediate service of an earnings withholding order if:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>any party demonstrates, and the court finds, that there is good cause to not require immediate earnings withholding; or</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>the court approves of the terms of a written agreement of the parties providing for an alternative method of payment.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="e">
    <text>If the court authorizes the immediate service of an earnings withholding order, the court shall immediately cause a copy of the earnings withholding order to be served on any employer of the obligor.</text>
  </level>
</section>
