N.Y. Social Services Law § 111-u: Liens

§ 111-u. Liens. 1. The office of temporary and disability assistance,

or a social services district, or its authorized representative shall

have a lien against real and personal property owned by a support

obligor when such support obligor is or was under a court order to pay

child support or combined child and spousal support to a support

collection unit on behalf of persons receiving services under this

title, and such obligor has accumulated support arrears/past due in an

amount equal to or greater than the amount of support due pursuant to

such order for a period of four months. Such lien shall incorporate

unpaid support which accrues in the future.

2. For the purposes of determining whether a support obligor has

accumulated support arrears/past due support for a period of four

months, the amount of any retroactive support, other than periodic

payments of retroactive support which are past due, shall not be

included in the calculation of arrears/past due support pursuant to this

section; however, if at least four months of support arrears/past due

support have accumulated subsequent to the date of the court order, the

entire amount of any retroactive support may be collected pursuant to

the provisions of this subdivision or as otherwise authorized by law.

3. When the office of temporary and disability assistance, or a social

services district, or its authorized representative on behalf of a

person receiving services pursuant to this title determines that the

requisite amount of child support is past due, it shall send, by first

class mail, a notice of intent to file a lien to the support obligor.

The obligor may assert a mistake of fact and shall have an opportunity

to make a submission in support of the assertion. The assertion and any

supporting papers shall be submitted within thirty-five days from the

date a notice was mailed. Thereafter, the social services district shall

determine the merits of the assertion, and shall notify the obligor of

its determination within ninety days after notice to the obligor was

mailed.

4. If the social services district finds no mistake of fact exists or,

the obligor fails to assert a mistake of fact within the thirty-five

days, the social services district may file a notice of lien, which

shall contain the caption of the support order and a statement of

arrears and which shall constitute a lien on the property. The social

services district shall not enforce its lien until after expiration of

any applicable period for review of an administrative action or, if the

obligor has initiated a proceeding pursuant to article seventy-eight of

the civil practice law and rules, until completion of such review.

5. Filing of the notice of the lien shall be as provided in sections

sixty-five and two hundred eleven of the lien law, article forty-six of

the vehicle and traffic law, or as otherwise authorized by law.

6. Within five days before or thirty days after filing the notice of

the lien, the social services district shall send by first class mail a

copy of such notice upon the owner of the property.