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Simple English definitions for legal terms
intercept
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A quick definition of intercept:
Intercept is a way for the government to take some of the money that someone owes for child support from their unemployment benefits, disability income, income-tax refund, or lottery winnings. It's like the government is taking some of their money to pay for what they owe. Intercept can also mean secretly listening to someone's conversations, which is usually done by the police with permission from a judge. This is called wiretapping and it's regulated by laws.
A more thorough explanation:
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.