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

SECTION 309. PRIVATE COUNSEL. An individual may employ private counsel to
represent the individual in proceedings authorized by this [Act] [act].
Comment
The right of a party to retain private counsel in a proceeding brought under UIFSA is
explicitly recognized. The failure to clearly recognize that power under the prior uniform acts led
to confusion and inconsistent decisions. The Convention implicitly recognizes that the right to
employ an attorney is to be available in every Convention country, but does not explicitly
mention retaining private counsel. A “competent authority” in Convention terminology is
equivalent to a tribunal.
Related to Convention: art. 37. Direct requests to competent authorities.
SECTION 310. DUTIES OF [STATE INFORMATION AGENCY].
(a) The [Attorney General’s Office, State Attorney’s Office, State Central Registry or
other information agency] is the state information agency under this [Act] [act].
(b) The state information agency shall:
(1) compile and maintain a current list, including addresses, of the tribunals in this
State state which have jurisdiction under this [Act] [act] and any support enforcement agencies in
this State state and transmit a copy to the state information agency of every other State state;
(2) maintain a register of names and addresses of tribunals and support
enforcement agencies received from other States states;
(3) forward to the appropriate tribunal in the [county] in this State state in which
the obligee who is an individual or the obligor resides, or in which the obligor’s property is
believed to be located, all documents concerning a proceeding under this [Act] [act] received
from an initiating tribunal or the state information agency of the initiating State another state or a
foreign country; and
(4) obtain information concerning the location of the obligor and the obligor’s
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