Collecting your child support payments shouldn’t be difficult, but as we all know, it can be.
If the other parent lives in a different state, there are additional steps you need to take to collect your court ordered support, but there is a uniform law in place to make that collection easier.
Enforcement of Child Support Across The Country
The Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (“UIFSA”) governs the establishment, modification, and enforcement of child support orders across states. UIFSA doesn’t change the guidelines for qualifying for child support. Rather, UIFSA is designed to facilitate the collection of support when parents do not live in the same state and to determine which state has jurisdiction to modify or change an existing child support order when the parties live in different states.
Registering your Arizona support order in another state requires the following:
- A letter of transmittal to the tribunal requesting registration and enforcement;
- Two copies, including one certified copy, of the order to be registered;
- A sworn statement by the party seeking registration;
- The name of the obligor and information including obligor’s address, Social Security number, and employment, if known; AND
- The name and address of the obligee (person owed the money).
Notice Of The Child Support Order
The state where the order is now registered must notify the obligor (person who owes) (who lives in that state) and the obligor’s employer of the existence of the order. The obligor must also receive a notice that the order is enforceable, the amount of time the obligor has to request a hearing, that failure to contest the validity or enforceability results in confirmation of the order, and the amount of any child support arrearages, if any.
If the order was originally entered in Arizona AND either you, the children or the other party still live in Arizona, then Arizona continues to exercise jurisdiction.
This means that any attempts to modify the child support order will need to go through the state of Arizona and will follow Arizona’s laws.
Otherwise, if everyone has now moved out of Arizona, then UIFSA directs the parties as to which state would then have jurisdiction to modify the child support order, but typically where no other orders have been entered, then the person who is seeking the modification has to file in the other parent’s state.
In any respect, jurisdiction for modification of a child support order under UIFSA when all the parties have moved out of the state that issued the original order can be confusing and complex, so consulting with an attorney experienced in dealing with these issues under UIFSA can be crucial.
If you need help with your case and would like to work with one of our experienced Attorneys, please call OWENS & PERKINS at (480) 994-8824 to schedule your free 30-minute legal consultation.
