12E-1.018. Liens

(1) Lien on Vehicles. If there is an arrearage of $600 or more and a noncustodial parent owns or is purchasing a vehicle, a lien shall be sought by the Director of the IV-D agency. When a lien already exists, the first lienholder must be notified and requested to forward the title to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) for registration of the department as the subsequent lienholder. Pursuant to Section 319.24, F.S., the program shall request DHSMV to pursue any action on the title as prescribed in Section 319.24, F.S. If there is no prior lien, and the noncustodial parent does not surrender the title, the district child support enforcement office shall compel the noncustodial parent to surrender the title. If the noncustodial parent divests himself or herself of the property and does so after the receipt of the notices, penalties and remedies shall be pursued as provided in Chapter 726, F.S.

(2) Release of lien on vehicle is as follows:

(a) If the department is the only lienholder and the arrears have been collected, the child support enforcement program shall notify the noncustodial parent and DHSMV of the lien satisfaction.

(b) If the department is listed as the first lienholder and the lien is satisfied with no other lienholder listed, the title shall be mailed to the vehicle owner and the IV-D agency shall notify DHSMV to issue a new title without the department as a lienholder.

(c) If the department is the second lienholder and only the debt to the first lien becomes satisfied, the title shall be sent to DHSMV by the first lienholder. DHSMV will then reissue the title showing the department as the first lienholder.

(3) Execution on liens. The district child support enforcement program administrator, after consultation with the legal service provider, will determine whether to execute on a personal or real property lien. The following factors will be considered:

(a) Amount of arrearage;

(b) Value of property;

(c) Costs of execution;

(d) Other encumbrances; and

(e) If the property is jointly owned.

(4) The IV-D agency shall never attempt to take title to or actually take title to real property without contacting, the Division of State Lands, Department of Environmental Protection, 3900 Commonwealth Boulevard, Tallahassee, Florida 32399, the state agency responsible for taking title to all state real property. That agency will perform the necessary inquiries to assure that the transfer of title to the state does not impose additional financial burdens upon the state as the new owner of the real property.

Rulemaking Authority 409.2557(3)(i) FS. Law Implemented 319.24, 409.2575, 726.105, 742.08 FS. History–New 6-17-92, Amended 7-20-94, Formerly 10C-25.015.