2008 Amendments to the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act ...

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Subsection (b) performs the same function for the support enforcement agency or agencies. By its terms it indicates the legislature may designate more than one entity as authorized to enforce a support order, including a private agency. To clarify, only a public official or governmental entity may be designated by the legislature as a support enforcement agency operating under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act, and, by virtue of the receipt of a federal subsidy, is subject to federal regulations. But, the legislature may decide to provides services unrelated to the Title IV-D system. For example, the state legislature could identify (and fund) a private agency authorized to enforce a spousal-support order not involving child support. SECTION 104. REMEDIES CUMULATIVE. (a) Remedies provided by this [Act] [act] are cumulative and do not affect the availability of remedies under other law, including or the recognition of a foreign support order of a foreign country or political subdivision on the basis of comity. (b) This [Act] [act] does not: (1) provide the exclusive method of establishing or enforcing a support order under the law of this State state; or (2) grant a tribunal of this State state jurisdiction to render judgment or issue an order relating to [child custody or visitation] in a proceeding under this [Act] [act]. Legislative note: If a state has more than one entity serving as a tribunal or support enforcement agency, the plural text choice should be selected. Comment The existence of procedures for interstate establishment, enforcement, or modification of support or a determination of parentage in UIFSA does not preclude the application of the general law of the forum. Even if the parents live in different states, for example, a petitioner may decide to file an original proceeding for child support (and most likely for other relief as well) directly in the state of residence of the respondent and proceed under that forum’s generally applicable support law. In so doing, the out-of-state petitioner submits to the personal jurisdiction of the forum and, for the most part, is unaffected by UIFSA. Once a child-support order has been issued, this option is no longer available to interstate parties. Under UIFSA, a state may not permit a party to proceed to obtain a second support order; rather, in further litigation the tribunal must apply the act’s provisions for enforcement of an existing order and limit modification to the strict standards of UIFSA. This section amends the act to facilitate recognition and enforcement of a foreign support 70
order from a nation state that is entitled to have its orders recognized by comity, but is not defined as a “foreign country” under Section 102(5). Subsection (a) specifically recognizes the doctrine of comity as a legitimate function of state law that on a proper showing provides for the recognition of a foreign support order. Although the determination by the U.S. State Department that a foreign nation is a reciprocating country is binding on all states, recognition of a foreign support order through comity is dependent on the law of each state. The reference to “remedies under other law” is intended to recognize the principle of comity as developed in the forum state by statutory or common law, rather than to create a substantive right independent of that law. Subsection (b)(1) gives notice that UIFSA is not the only means for establishing or enforcing a support order with an interstate aspect. A potential child-support obligee may voluntarily submit to the jurisdiction of another state to seek the full range of desired relief under the law of that state using intrastate procedures, rather than resorting to the interstate procedure provided by UIFSA. A nonresident married parent may choose to file a proceeding in the forum state for dissolution of the marriage, including property division and spousal support, and in conjunction seek an order regarding child custody and visitation and child support. A parent may submit to the jurisdiction of another state for a determination of parentage and child support. A support order resulting from each of these scenarios implicates UIFSA. Invariably the issuing tribunal will have continuing, exclusive jurisdiction over its controlling child-support or spousalsupport order as provided by sections 205, 207, and 211, infra, with all of the attendant application of the act to those orders. Likewise, the order or judgment of another state can be enforced without the necessity of registration under UIFSA by resort to other post-judgment enforcement remedies, such as lien, levy, execution, and filing claims in probate or bankruptcy actions. On the other hand, subsection (b)(2) makes clear that jurisdiction to establish child custody and visitation orders is distinct from jurisdiction for child-support orders. For the former, jurisdiction generally rests on the child’s connection with the state rather than personal jurisdiction over the respondent. See UCCJEA § 201; May v. Anderson, 345 U.S. 528 (1953) (Frankfurter, J., concurring). Under the Supreme Court’s case law, jurisdiction to establish a child support order requires personal jurisdiction over the respondent. See Kulko v. Superior Court, 436 U.S. 84 (1978). If the child-support order is sought under the authority of UIFSA, the most important aspect of this rule is that a child-support obligee utilizing the provisions of UIFSA to establish child support across state lines submits to jurisdiction for child support only, and does not submit to the jurisdiction of the responding state with regard to child custody or visitation. SECTION 105. APPLICATION OF [ACT] TO RESIDENT OF FOREIGN COUNTRY AND FOREIGN SUPPORT PROCEEDING. (a) A tribunal of this state shall apply [Articles] 1 through 6 and, as applicable, [Article] 7, to a support proceeding involving: 71
Page 1 and 2: SUBMITTED BY THE FAMILY LAW SECTION
Page 3 and 4: EXHIBIT A UNIFORM INTERSTATE FAMILY
Page 5 and 6: DRAFTING COMMITTEE ON AMENDMENTS TO
Page 7 and 8: UNIFORM INTERSTATE FAMILY SUPPORT A
Page 9 and 10: SECTION 606. PROCEDURE TO CONTEST V
Page 13 and 14: Uniform Interstate Family Support A
Page 15 and 16: Beginning in June 2003, and continu
Page 19 and 20: country in an initiating State from
Page 21 and 22: (19) (24) “Responding tribunal”
Page 23 and 24: Subsection (3) “Convention,” id
Page 25: The vast bulk of child support esta
Page 29 and 30: ARTICLE 2 JURISDICTION SECTION 201.
Page 31 and 32: Under RURESA, multiple support orde
Page 33 and 34: For example, a challenge to a reque
Page 35 and 36: country; (2) the contesting party t
Page 37 and 38: a child-support order of a tribunal
Page 39 and 40: SECTION 206. CONTINUING JURISDICTIO
Page 41 and 42: is an individual shall determine wh
Page 43 and 44: personal jurisdiction over the obli
Page 45 and 46: of equal dignity. In allocating pay
Page 47 and 48: this State state has continuing, ex
Page 49 and 50: individual petitioner requesting af
Page 51 and 52: Comment Subsection (a) was designed
Page 53 and 54: support order is based. (d) A respo
Page 55 and 56: enforcement agency will also assist
Page 57 and 58: (f) This [Act] [act] does not creat
Page 59 and 60: SECTION 309. PRIVATE COUNSEL. An in
Page 61 and 62: documents must conform substantiall
Page 63 and 64: hearing is presumed to have been re
Page 65 and 66: tribunal must give effect to such a
Page 67 and 68: substantive law should apply. Becau
Page 69 and 70: certified statement by the custodia
Page 71 and 72: (8) an individual who has been orde
Page 73 and 74: ARTICLE 5 ENFORCEMENT OF SUPPORT OR
Page 75 and 76: (3) medical support, whether in the
Page 77 and 78:
Subsection (c)(3) provides that med
Page 79 and 80:
SE C T I ON 506. CONTEST BY OBL IGO
Page 81 and 82:
support enforcement agency shall re
Page 83 and 84:
enforceable in the responding state
Page 85 and 86:
Convention. Because child-support e
Page 87 and 88:
SECTION 604. CHOICE OF LAW. (a) Exc
Page 89 and 90:
identical manner as all other oblig
Page 91 and 92:
the order (roughly the equivalent o
Page 93 and 94:
to vacate the registration has the
Page 95 and 96:
precludes the nonregistering party
Page 97 and 98:
(1) the following requirements are
Page 99 and 100:
The underlying policies of this pro
Page 101 and 102:
continuing, exclusive jurisdiction
Page 103 and 104:
SE C T I ON 613. JURISDICTION TO MO
Page 105 and 106:
pursuant to this section is the con
Page 107 and 108:
ARTICLE 7 DETERMINATION OF PARENTAG
Page 109 and 110:
ehalf of a child, made through a ce
Page 111 and 112:
SE C T I ON 702. APPLICABILITY. Thi
Page 113 and 114:
country. (d) A tribunal of this sta
Page 115 and 116:
in a Convention country and to an i
Page 117 and 118:
interstate child support orders. To
Page 119 and 120:
and partial recognition and enforce
Page 121 and 122:
might raise a challenge based on la
Page 123 and 124:
such rules permitted under the Conv
Page 125 and 126:
egistered partner in a Convention c
Page 127 and 128:
ORDER. SECTION 711. MODIFICATION OF
Page 129 and 130:
Convention source: art. 38. Protect
Page 131 and 132:
SECTION 802. CONDITIONS OF RENDITIO
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2008 Amendments to the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act ...

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