Legal Definitions - intercept

Definition: Intercept is a term used in family law to describe a process where a portion of an obligor's income, such as unemployment benefits, disability income, income-tax refund, or lottery winnings, is automatically diverted to a child-support-enforcement agency to pay past-due support obligations. Intercept can also refer to the act of diverting money from a payee to satisfy a financial obligation of the payee. Intercept can also refer to covertly receiving or listening to a communication, usually done by law-enforcement officers under court order.

Example 1: John owes $10,000 in child support payments. His state's child-support-enforcement agency intercepts $500 from his income-tax refund to pay off a portion of his past-due support obligations.

Example 2: The police intercept a phone call between two suspects in a drug-trafficking case. They listen to the conversation to gather evidence against the suspects.

These examples illustrate how intercept can refer to both a legal process and a law-enforcement activity. In the first example, the state intercepts a portion of John's income to pay off his child support obligations. In the second example, the police intercept a phone call to gather evidence against suspects. Both examples involve diverting money or listening to a communication to satisfy a financial obligation or gather evidence, respectively.