Form FL-460 at a glance
What it is: FL-460 is an earnings assignment order for support governed by Chapter 8 of the Family Code and is intended to be a qualified domestic relations order (QDRO) under applicable federal law.
Who signs: SIGN: the judicial officer signs and enters the Date.
What to bring and attach to Form FL-460
Note: A separate Attachment to Qualified Domestic Relations Order for Support (form FL-461) that sets forth the social security number of any participant named in this order must be completed and served on the Plan with a copy of this order. The Plan will require this information for tax reporting purposes. Do not file a copy of form FL-461 with the court.
A filled-in Form FL-460 example: a parent orders child support from a plan

How to fill out Form FL-460, box by box
Attorney or party without attorney or governmental agency
Modification, Child Support, Spousal or Family Support
To the Payor/Plan

This order applies to the following named plan: enter the Name and Address of the Plan.
This order requires you to withhold a portion of the benefits payable under the Plan with respect to the Obligor/Participant: enter the full legal name and, if known, mailing address, date of birth, and employee identification number.
Withholding of periodic benefit payments

If Participant has commenced receiving benefits under the Plan in the form of monthly or other periodic payments or has applied to receive monthly or other periodic payments (if benefits are not in pay status and have not been applied for, see item 5; if benefits are payable in a lump sum, see item 3), withhold the following amounts from the monthly benefits otherwise payable to the Participant:
Enter $ per month for current child support, current spousal support and current family support, and for child support arrearages, spousal support arrearages and family support arrearages.
Enter the total monthly support obligation (sum of item 1a(1) through (6)).
If the total monthly support obligation exceeds 50 percent of Participant's periodic benefits, withhold the greater of 50 percent or the percentage, if any, set forth in item 12.
If Participant's benefits are payable on a periodic basis other than monthly (e.g., quarterly, semiannually, or annually), multiply each of the amounts in items 1a and 1b by the number of months included in the payment period, and withhold the adjusted amounts (subject to the limitations in item 1c, taking into account the adjustment of the amount in item 1b) from each benefit payment.
If the amount withheld is less than the total monthly support obligation, prorate the amount first to current child support, then to current family support, and then to current spousal support. Apply any remainder in the same order of priority to support arrearages.
Arrearages
Child Support

Child Support: all amounts withheld or payable for child support under this order are for the benefit of the Alternate Payee: enter the name of each child and the date of birth of each child.
Amounts withheld for child support must be paid to an agent: enter the name, capacity, and mailing address of the agent to receive payments.
Spousal or Family Support

Spousal or Family Support: all amounts withheld or payable for spousal/family support under this order are for the benefit of the Spousal or Family Alternate Payee: enter the name, with date of birth, if available.
Name: DOB: Note: A separate Attachment to Qualified Domestic Relations Order for Support (form FL-461) that sets forth the social security number of any Spousal or Family Alternate Payee named in item 4c(1) must be completed and served on the Plan with a copy of this order.
(2) Amounts withheld for spousal or family support must be paid to (check one): the Spousal or Family Alternate Payee at the mailing address you enter, or the Spousal or Family Alternate Payee's Agent, with the name, mailing address, and capacity of the agent.
This order upon approval as a QDRO

This order upon approval as a QDRO (check appropriate box, if either is applicable): amends/replaces any existing QDRO with respect to support for any Alternate Payee's named herein, or supplements but does not amend or replace any existing payment obligations under a previous QDRO issued with respect to any Alternate Payee named herein.
Maximum withholding percentage greater than 50%

Maximum withholding percentage greater than 50%: if a maximum withholding percentage greater than 50% has been authorized by court order, check the box to the left and complete the following.
By order entered on (date), the court has determined that the maximum percentage of Participant's benefits under the Plan that are subject to withholding pursuant to item 1 of this order is (check one): 100%, or a percentage (if this box is checked, fill in the maximum percentage specified in the order).
Other provisions

14. OTHER PROVISIONS: the Plan must provide to the Alternate Payee, or to the Alternate Payee's agent, a copy of the Summary Plan Description; any subsequent summaries of material modifications with respect to the Plan; and the Plan's QDRO procedures, if any. Other (specify).
SIGN: the judicial officer signs and enters the Date.
More rules for Form FL-460
The Plan must give the Obligor/Participant a copy of this order and the accompanying blank Request for Hearing Regarding Earnings Assignment (form FL-450) within 10 days.
(a) Alternate payee: any spouse, former spouse, child, or other dependent of the Participant.
(c) Agent: any person, including the district attorney or other governmental agency, to whom the support is to be paid on behalf of an alternate payee.
The payments ordered herein will continue until further court order or notarized written notice from the Alternate Payee(s).
INFORMATION FOR ALL PARTICIPANTS: You should have received a Request for Hearing Regarding Earnings Assignment (form FL-450) with the Qualified Domestic Relations Order for Support. If not, you may get one from either the court clerk or the local child support agency.
If you want the court to stop or modify the assignment of your benefits under the Plan, you must file (hand-deliver or mail) an original copy of form FL-450 with the court clerk within 10 days of the date you received this order.
Generally speaking, for federal income tax purposes, the Participant will be taxed on any child support paid from a Plan based on this order.
If your situation is different
Withholding from lump sum distributions
Withhold from any lump sum distributions currently payable to Participant under the Plan as follows.
An amount equal to the total of the support arrearages, if any, set forth in item 2.
If the amounts withheld under item 3a are less than the total of the support arrearages, if any, set forth in item 2, prorate the amounts first to child support arrearages, then to family support arrearages, and then to spousal support arrearages.
The limitations on withholding set forth in items 1 and 12 do not apply to the withholding provisions of this item 3.
If benefits are not currently in pay status
If benefits are not currently in pay status: If Participant applies for benefits (including a lump sum distribution) within 90 days after the Plan receives this order or while the temporary restraining order in item 13 remains in effect, the withholding provisions of this order must take effect once such benefits become payable.
Sources
[1] Form FL-460 (Rev. January 1, 2003), Qualified Domestic Relations Order for Support, Judicial Council of California (the Official source link on this page).



