BATTLE R. ROBINSON, 104 W. Market Street, Georgetown, DE 19947, Chair

MARLIN J. APPELWICK, Court of Appeals, One Union Square, 600 University Street, Seattle,

WA 98101

DEBORAH E. BEHR, Office of Attorney General, Department of Law, P.O. Box 110300, Juneau,

AK 99811

CHARLOTTE M. BROOKINS-HUDSON, Council of the District of Columbia, 7th Floor North,

Room 711, 441 Fourth Street NW, Washington, DC 20001

ROBERT L. MCCURLEY, JR., Alabama Law Institute, P.O. Box 861425, Tuscaloosa, AL 35486

ELWAINE F. POMEROY, 1415 S.W. Topeka Boulevard, Topeka, KS 66612-1818

HARRY L. TINDALL, 1300 Post Oak Blvd., Suite 2200, Houston, TX 77056-3014, Enactment

Plan Coordinator

JOHN J. SAMPSON, University of Texas Law School, 727 E. Dean Keeton Street, Austin,

TX 78705-3299, Reporter

JOHN L. McCLAUGHERTY, P.O. Box 553, Charleston, WV 25322, President

ROBERT C. ROBINSON, P.O. Box 568, 12 Portland Pier, Portland, ME 041120568, Division Chair

JOSEPH W. BOOTH, Suite 160, 10990 Quivira, Overland Park, KS 66210

FRED H. MILLER, University of Oklahoma, College of Law, 300 Timberdell Road, Norman,

OK 73019, Executive Director

WILLIAM J. PIERCE, 1505 Roxbury Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48104, Executive Director Emeritus

JANICE ALLEN, Anoka County Attorney Office, 2100 Third Avenue, Anoka, MN 55393-2265

BARRY BROOKS, Child Support Division, Office of the Texas Attorney General, P.O. Box 12017,

Austin, TX 78711-2017

MARY HELEN CARLSON, Department of State, Office of Legal Advisor for Private International Law

(DOS/L/PIL), 2201 C Street NW, Washington, DC 20520

GARY CASWELL, Office of the Attorney General of Texas, Manager, International Coordination

OAG-CSD, 1139 Gembler Road, San Antonio, TX 78219

GLORIA F. DeHART, Office of Assistant Legal Adviser for Private International Law, U.S. Department

of State, 50 Fremont Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, CA 94105

STEPHEN GRANT, U.S. Central Authority for International Child Support/DHHS/OCSE, 370 L'Enfant

Promenade SW, Washington, DC 20447

MARGARET CAMPBELL HAYNES, Former Chair, U.S. Commission on Interstate Child Support,

3507 Rittenhouse Street NW, Washington, DC 20015

LILY MATHESON, U.S. Office of Child Support Enforcement, DHHS, Director of Policy, 370 L'Enfant

Promenade SW, Washington, DC 20447

SUSAN NOTAR, Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement, 370 L'Enfant Promenade SW,

Washington, DC 20447

SUSAN F. PAIKIN, Eastern Regional Interstate Child Support Association, 13 Deer Run,

Little Baltimore, Newark, DE 19711

KIT PETERSON, American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, P.O. Box 1243, Norman, OK 73070

PAULA ROBERTS, Center for Law & Social Policy, 1616 P Street NW, Suite 150, Washington,

DC 20036-1492

JAN ROTHSTEIN, Office of Child Support Enforcement, DHHS, 4th Floor, 370 L'Enfant

Promenade SW, Washington, DC 20997

MARILYN RAY SMITH, National Child Support Enforcement Association, c/o Child Support

Enforcement Division, Massachusetts Department of Revenue, P.O. Box 9492, Boston,

MA 02205-9492

NATHANIEL (NICK) L. YOUNG, JR., President, National Council of Child Support Directors,

730 E. Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23219

SECTION 101. DEFINITIONS (Amended) 2

SECTION 102. TRIBUNAL OF STATE (No Change) 6

SECTION 103. REMEDIES CUMULATIVE (Amended) 7

SECTION 201. BASES FOR JURISDICTION OVER NONRESIDENT (Amended) 9

SECTION 202. PROCEDURE WHEN EXERCISING JURISDICTION OVER

NONRESIDENT (Amended) 10

SECTION 203. INITIATING AND RESPONDING TRIBUNAL OF STATE (No Change) 11

SECTION 204. SIMULTANEOUS PROCEEDINGS IN ANOTHER STATE (No Change) 11

SECTION 205. CONTINUING, EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION TO MODIFY

CHILD-SUPPORT ORDER (Amended) 12

SECTION 206. ENFORCEMENT AND MODIFICATION OF SUPPORT ORDER BY

TRIBUNAL HAVING CONTINUING JURISDICTION CONTINUING

JURISDICTION TO ENFORCE CHILD-SUPPORT ORDER (Amended) 15

SECTION 207. RECOGNITION OF CONTROLLING CHILD-SUPPORT ORDER (Amended) 16

SECTION 208. MULTIPLE CHILD-SUPPORT ORDERS FOR TWO OR MORE

OBLIGEES (No Change) 19

SECTION 209. CREDIT FOR PAYMENTS (Amended) 19

SECTION 210. CONTINUING, EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION OVER NONRESIDENT

PARTY (New) 20

SECTION 211. CONTINUING, EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION TO MODIFY SPOUSAL-

SUPPORT ORDER (New) 20

SECTION 301. PROCEEDINGS UNDER [ACT] (Amended) 22

SECTION 302. ACTION BY MINOR PARENT (No Change) 23

SECTION 303. APPLICATION OF LAW OF STATE (Amended) 23

SECTION 304. DUTIES OF INITIATING TRIBUNAL (Amended) 24

SECTION 305. DUTIES AND POWERS OF RESPONDING TRIBUNAL (Amended) 25

SECTION 306. INAPPROPRIATE TRIBUNAL (No Change) 27

SECTION 307. DUTIES OF SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT AGENCY (Amended) 27

SECTION 308. DUTY OF [ATTORNEY GENERAL STATE OFFICIAL OR

AGENCY] (Amended) 29

SECTION 309. PRIVATE COUNSEL (No Change) 29

SECTION 310. DUTIES OF [STATE INFORMATION AGENCY] (No Change) 30

SECTION 311. PLEADINGS AND ACCOMPANYING DOCUMENTS (Amended) 31

SECTION 312. NONDISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION IN EXCEPTIONAL

CIRCUMSTANCES (Amended) 32

SECTION 313. COSTS AND FEES (No Change) 32

SECTION 314. LIMITED IMMUNITY OF [PETITIONER] (Amended) 33

SECTION 315. NONPARENTAGE AS DEFENSE (No Change) 34

SECTION 316. SPECIAL RULES OF EVIDENCE AND PROCEDURE (Amended) 34

SECTION 317. COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN TRIBUNALS (No Change) 36

SECTION 318. ASSISTANCE WITH DISCOVERY (No Change) 36

SECTION 319. RECEIPT AND DISBURSEMENT OF PAYMENTS (Amended) 36

SECTION 401. [PETITION] TO ESTABLISH SUPPORT ORDER (Amended) 38

SECTION 501. EMPLOYER'S RECEIPT OF INCOME-WITHHOLDING ORDER OF

ANOTHER STATE (Amended) 40

SECTION 502. EMPLOYER'S COMPLIANCE WITH INCOME-WITHHOLDING ORDER

OF ANOTHER STATE (No Change) 40

SECTION 503. EMPLOYER'S COMPLIANCE WITH MULTIPLE INCOME-WITHHOLDING

ORDERS (Amended) 42

SECTION 504. IMMUNITY FROM CIVIL LIABILITY (No Change) 42

SECTION 505. PENALTIES FOR NONCOMPLIANCE (No Change) 42

SECTION 506. CONTEST BY OBLIGOR (Amended) 42

SECTION 507. ADMINISTRATIVE ENFORCEMENT OF ORDERS (No Change) 43

SECTION 601. REGISTRATION OF ORDER FOR ENFORCEMENT (No Change) 44

SECTION 602. PROCEDURE TO REGISTER ORDER FOR ENFORCEMENT (Amended) 44

SECTION 603. EFFECT OF REGISTRATION FOR ENFORCEMENT (No Change) 46

SECTION 604. CHOICE OF LAW (Amended) 46

SECTION 605. NOTICE OF REGISTRATION OF ORDER (Amended) 48

SECTION 606. PROCEDURE TO CONTEST VALIDITY OR ENFORCEMENT OF

REGISTERED ORDER (No Change) 49

SECTION 607. CONTEST OF REGISTRATION OR ENFORCEMENT (Amended) 50

SECTION 608. CONFIRMED ORDER (No Change) 51

SECTION 609. PROCEDURE TO REGISTER CHILD-SUPPORT ORDER OF ANOTHER

STATE FOR MODIFICATION (No Change) 51

SECTION 610. EFFECT OF REGISTRATION FOR MODIFICATION (No Change) 52

SECTION 611. MODIFICATION OF CHILD-SUPPORT ORDER OF ANOTHER

STATE (Amended) 52

SECTION 612. RECOGNITION OF ORDER MODIFIED IN ANOTHER STATE (Amended) 54

SECTION 613. JURISDICTION TO MODIFY CHILD-SUPPORT ORDER OF ANOTHER

STATE WHEN INDIVIDUAL PARTIES RESIDE IN THIS

STATE (No Change) 55

SECTION 614. NOTICE TO ISSUING TRIBUNAL OF MODIFICATION (No Change) 56

SECTION 615. JURISDICTION TO MODIFY FOREIGN SUPPORT ORDER (New) 56

SECTION 701. PROCEEDING TO DETERMINE PARENTAGE (Amended) 58

SECTION 801. GROUNDS FOR RENDITION (No Change) 59

SECTION 802. CONDITIONS OF RENDITION (Amended) 59

SECTION 901. UNIFORMITY OF APPLICATION AND CONSTRUCTION (No Change) 61

SECTION 902. SHORT TITLE (Amended) 61

SECTION 903. SEVERABILITY CLAUSE (No Change) 61

SECTION 904. EFFECTIVE DATE (No Change) 61

SECTION 905. REPEALS (No Change) 62

In 1992 the Conference promulgated the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (hereafter UIFSA) as a complete replacement of the then-existing interstate child-support acts, the Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act (URESA) and its revised version (RURESA). In 1993 two States, Arkansas and Texas, enacted UIFSA. By the summer of 1996, 35 States had adopted the new Uniform Act. That summer was extraordinarily eventful in the history of UIFSA. First, a Drafting Committee was convened in response to requests from representative of employer groups for more specific statutory direction regarding interstate child-support withholding orders. Second, the child-support community (IV-D programs in all States funded by federal subsidies) requested review of the substantive and procedural provisions. As a result, significant amendments to UIFSA were adopted by the Conference July, 1996. Finally, much to the surprise of Washington pundits who had declared the prospect of welfare reform was "dead," in August 1996 Congress enacted the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (hereafter PRWORA). One of the provisions in the reform package was a mandate that all States enact UIFSA, as amended, no later than January 1, 1998. Although two or three States were slightly late in complying, all American jurisdictions have had UIFSA (1996) in its laws since Spring, 1998.

With all States having experience with UIFSA ranging from three to eight years, the child-support community again requested that the Act be reviewed and amendments suggested as appropriate. In response to this request, the Drafting Committee met in March 2001 and produced the following amendments, some procedural, some substantive. None of the proposals make a fundamental change in the policies and procedures established in the original act or in the 1996 amended act.

SECTION 101. DEFINITIONS. In this [Act]:

(1) "Child" means an individual, whether over or under the age of majority, who is or is alleged to be owed a duty of support by the individual's parent or who is or is alleged to be the beneficiary of a support order directed to the parent.

(2) "Child-support order" means a support order for a child, including a child who has attained the age of majority under the law of the issuing State.

(3) "Duty of support" means an obligation imposed or imposable by law to provide support for a child, spouse, or former spouse, including an unsatisfied obligation to provide support.

(4) "Home State" means the State in which a child lived with a parent or a person acting as parent for at least six consecutive months immediately preceding the time of filing of a [petition] or comparable pleading for support and, if a child is less than six months old, the State in which the child lived from birth with any of them. A period of temporary absence of any of them is counted as part of the six-month or other period.

(5) "Income" includes earnings or other periodic entitlements to money from any source and any other property subject to withholding for support under the law of this State.

(6) "Income-withholding order" means an order or other legal process directed to an obligor's [employer] [or other debtor], as defined by [the income-withholding law of this State], to withhold support from the income of the obligor.

(7) "Initiating State" means a State from which a proceeding is forwarded or in which a proceeding is filed for forwarding to a responding State under this [Act] or a law or procedure substantially similar to this [Act], the Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act, or the Revised Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act.

(8) "Initiating tribunal" means the authorized tribunal in an initiating State.

(9) "Issuing State" means the State in which a tribunal issues a support order or renders a judgment determining parentage.

(10) "Issuing tribunal" means the tribunal that issues a support order or renders a judgment determining parentage.

(11) "Law" includes decisional and statutory law and rules and regulations having the force of law.

(12) "Obligee" means:

(i) an individual to whom a duty of support is or is alleged to be owed or in whose favor a support order has been issued or a judgment determining parentage has been rendered;

(ii) a State or political subdivision to which the rights under a duty of support or support order have been assigned or which has independent claims based on financial assistance provided to an individual obligee; or

(iii) an individual seeking a judgment determining parentage of the individual's child.

(13) "Obligor" means an individual, or the estate of a decedent:

(i) who owes or is alleged to owe a duty of support;

(ii) who is alleged but has not been adjudicated to be a parent of a child; or

(iii) who is liable under a support order.

(14) "Record" means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form.

(14) (15) "Register" means to [record; file] a support order or judgment determining parentage in the [appropriate location for the recording or filing of foreign judgments generally or foreign support orders specifically].

(15) (16) "Registering tribunal" means a tribunal in which a support order is registered.

(16) (17) "Responding State" means a State in which a proceeding is filed or to which a proceeding is forwarded for filing from an initiating State under this [Act] or a law or procedure substantially similar to this [Act], the Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act, or the Revised Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act.

(17) (18) "Responding tribunal" means the authorized tribunal in a responding State.

(18) (19) "Spousal-support order" means a support order for a spouse or former spouse of the obligor.

(19) (20) "State" means a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. The term includes:

(i) an Indian tribe; and

(ii) a foreign jurisdiction that:

(A) has been declared to be a foreign reciprocating country under federal law;

(B) has established a child-support reciprocity arrangement with this State as provided in Section 308; or

(C) has enacted a law or established procedures for the issuance and enforcement of support orders which are substantially similar to the procedures under this [Act], the Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act, or the Revised Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act or consistent with the goals of this [Act].

(20) (21) "Support enforcement agency" means a public official or agency authorized to seek:

(i) enforcement of support orders or laws relating to the duty of support;

(ii) establishment or modification of child support;

(iii) determination of parentage; or

(iv) to locate obligors or their assets.

(21) (22) "Support order" means a judgment, decree, or order, or directive, whether temporary, final, or subject to modification, issued by a tribunal for the benefit of a child, a spouse, or a former spouse, which provides for monetary support, health care, arrearages, or reimbursement, and may include related costs and fees, interest, income withholding, attorney's fees, and other relief.

(22) (23) "Tribunal" means a court, administrative agency, or quasi-judicial entity authorized to establish, enforce, or modify support orders or to determine parentage.

Definition (7). Amendments to the definitions are relatively minor. Throughout the Act references to URESA and RURESA are eliminated. With the enactment of PRWORA, supra, all U.S. jurisdictions have enacted UIFSA making reference to those acts no longer appropriate.

Definition (14) conforms this Act to the Conference standard of the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act § 102(13) {UETA} that "in a record" rather than "in writing" is the appropriate manner to take electronic signatures into account.

Definition (20). The only important change is that of a foreign jurisdiction as a "State," which has been expanded to take into account both the actions of the U.S. State Department in declaring foreign countries to be reciprocating countries, and the ability of an individual State to make an arrangement with a foreign country for reciprocal enforcement of child support.

SECTION 102. TRIBUNAL OF STATE. The [court, administrative agency, quasi-judicial entity, or combination] [is the tribunal] [are the tribunals] of this State.

SECTION 103. REMEDIES CUMULATIVE.

(a) Remedies provided by this [Act] are cumulative and do not affect the availability of remedies under other law, including the recognition of a foreign support order on the basis of comity.

(b) This [Act] does not:

(1) provide the exclusive method of establishing or enforcing a support order under the law of this State; or

(2) grant a tribunal of this State jurisdiction to render judgment or issue an order relating to [child custody and visitation] in a proceeding under this [Act].

The amendment to Section 103 specifically recognizes the doctrine of comity as a part of state law; this permits 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 foreign support orders through comity is permitted by state law unless forbidden by federal law. It is highly unlikely that the State Department will declare a particular country to be non-reciprocating. But if that were to occur, the doctrine of comity would not be applicable to that particular country.

New subsection (b)(1) give notice that UIFSA is not the only means for establishing or enforcing a support order with an interstate aspect. For example, a potential child-support obligee may voluntarily submit to the jurisdiction of another State to seek support using intrastate procedures rather than resort to the interstate procedure provided by UIFSA. Specifically, either a nonresident married parent or an alleged parent may choose to file a suit in this State for dissolution of the marriage or for determination of parentage, respectively, plus petition for an order regarding child custody and visitation and for spousal or child support. Of course, a support order resulting from one of these scenarios will implicate UIFSA. The issuing tribunal will have continuing, exclusive jurisdiction over its controlling support order as provided by §§ 205, 609-615, infra, with all of the attendant restrictions on modification of those orders.

Subsection (b)(2) states what is clear under U.S. Supreme Court decisions; the bases of jurisdiction for child custody and visitation orders and the jurisdiction for child-support orders run on separate tracks. Jurisdiction over a child-support order under UIFSA does not confer custody jurisdiction. Perhaps the most important aspect of this rule is that a child-support obligee seeking 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 201. BASES FOR JURISDICTION OVER NONRESIDENT.

(a) In a proceeding to establish, or enforce, or modify a support order or to determine parentage, a tribunal of this State may exercise personal jurisdiction over a nonresident individual [or the individual's guardian or conservator] if:

(1) the individual is personally served with [citation, summons, notice] within this State;

(2) the individual submits to the jurisdiction of this State by consent, by entering a general appearance, or by filing a responsive document having the effect of waiving any contest to personal jurisdiction;

(3) the individual resided with the child in this State;

(4) the individual resided in this State and provided prenatal expenses or support for the child;

(5) the child resides in this State as a result of the acts or directives of the individual;

(6) the individual engaged in sexual intercourse in this State and the child may have been conceived by that act of intercourse; [or]

(7) [the individual asserted parentage in the [putative father registry] maintained in this State by the [appropriate agency]; or

(8)] there is any other basis consistent with the constitutions of this State and the United States for the exercise of personal jurisdiction.

(b) The bases of personal jurisdiction set forth in this section may not be used to acquire jurisdiction for a tribunal of this State to modify a child-support order issued by a tribunal of another State.

The amendment to subsection (a) is designed to preclude courts from using the reference to modification of a support order to avoid the strictures of UIFSA § 611, which provides strict rules for modification of an existing order. Some courts broadly construed the reference to avoid the requirement that a party seeking a modification of a child-support order of an issuing State when all parties have left that State must be a nonresident of the forum. Subsection (b) cements the view that Section 611 controls.

SECTION 202. PROCEDURE WHEN EXERCISING JURISDICTION OVER NONRESIDENT. A tribunal of this State exercising personal jurisdiction over a nonresident under Section 201, or recognizing a foreign support order on the basis of comity, may apply Section 316 (Special Rules of Evidence and Procedure) to receive evidence from another State or foreign jurisdiction, and Section 318 (Assistance with Discovery) to obtain discovery through a tribunal of another State or foreign jurisdiction. In all other respects, Articles 3 through 7 do not apply and the tribunal shall apply the procedural and substantive law of this State, including the rules on choice of law other than those established by this [Act].

Section 202 is designed to further explain the operation of comity in the context of foreign support orders.

SECTION 203. INITIATING AND RESPONDING TRIBUNAL OF STATE. Under this [Act], a tribunal of this State may serve as an initiating tribunal to forward proceedings to another State and as a responding tribunal for proceedings initiated in another State.

SECTION 204. SIMULTANEOUS PROCEEDINGS IN ANOTHER STATE.

(a) A tribunal of this State may exercise jurisdiction to establish a support order if the [petition] or comparable pleading is filed after a pleading is filed in another State only if:

(1) the [petition] or comparable pleading in this State is filed before the expiration of the time allowed in the other State for filing a responsive pleading challenging the exercise of jurisdiction by the other State;

(2) the contesting party timely challenges the exercise of jurisdiction in the other State; and

(3) if relevant, this State is the home State of the child.

(b) A tribunal of this State may not exercise jurisdiction to establish a support order if the [petition] or comparable pleading is filed before a [petition] or comparable pleading is filed in another State if:

(1) the [petition] or comparable pleading in the other State is filed before the expiration of the time allowed in this State for filing a responsive pleading challenging the exercise of jurisdiction by this State;

(2) the contesting party timely challenges the exercise of jurisdiction in this State; and

(3) if relevant, the other State is the home State of the child.

SECTION 205. CONTINUING, EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION TO MODIFY CHILD-SUPPORT ORDER.

(a) A tribunal of this State issuing that has issued a child-support order consistent with the law of this State has and shall exercise continuing, exclusive jurisdiction over a to modify its child-support order if the order is the controlling order, and

(1) as long as at the time of the filing of a request for modification this State remains is the residence of the obligor, the individual obligee, or the child for whose benefit the support order is issued; or

(2) until all of the parties who are individuals have filed written consents with the tribunal of this State for a tribunal of another State to modify the order and assume continuing, exclusive jurisdiction even if this State is not the residence of the obligor, the individual obligee, or the child for whose benefit the support order is issued, in conjunction with the filing of a proceeding to modify the support order the parties have agreed in a record or in open court that the tribunal of this State may continue to exercise its jurisdiction to modify its order.

(b) A tribunal of this State issuing that has issued a child-support order consistent with the law of this State may not exercise its continuing, exclusive jurisdiction to modify the order if the order has been modified by a tribunal of another State pursuant to this [Act] or a law substantially similar to this [Act].:

(1) all of the parties who are individuals have filed written consents with the tribunal of this State for a tribunal of another State with jurisdiction over at least one of the individual parties or the child to modify the order and assume continuing, exclusive jurisdiction; or

(2) its order is not the controlling order.

(c) If a child-support order of this State is modified by a tribunal of another State pursuant to this [Act] or a law substantially similar to this [Act], a tribunal of this State loses its continuing, exclusive jurisdiction with regard to prospective enforcement of the order issued in this State, and may only:

(1) enforce the order that was modified as to amounts accruing before the modification;

(2) enforce nonmodifiable aspects of that order; and

(3) provide other appropriate relief for violations of that order which occurred before the effective date of the modification.

(d) (c) A tribunal of this State shall recognize the continuing, exclusive jurisdiction of If a tribunal of another State which has issued a child-support order pursuant to this [Act] or a law substantially similar to this [Act] which modifies a child-support order of a tribunal of this State, tribunals of this State shall recognize the continuing, exclusive jurisdiction of the tribunal of the other State.

(d) A tribunal of this State which lacks continuing, exclusive jurisdiction to modify a child-support order may serve as an initiating tribunal to request a tribunal of another State to modify a support order issued in that State.

(e) A temporary support order issued ex parte or pending resolution of a jurisdictional conflict does not create continuing, exclusive jurisdiction in the issuing tribunal.

(f) A tribunal of this State issuing a spousal-support order consistent with the law of this State has continuing, exclusive jurisdiction over a spousal-support order throughout the existence of the support obligation. A tribunal of this State may not modify a spousal-support order issued by a tribunal of another State having continuing, exclusive jurisdiction over that order under the law of that State.

Although this section may, at first glance, appear to have been significantly rewritten, in reality it is reorganized for greater clarity. The concept of continuing, exclusive jurisdiction to modify child-support orders was introduced by UIFSA in 1992 and has been widely accepted in almost all jurisdictions. CEJ, as is known in the child-support enforcement world, is the cornerstone of the one-order-at-a-time principle first enunciated in UIFSA. So long as a party or the child continues to reside in the issuing State, that tribunal has continuing, exclusive jurisdiction over the support order. In rare instances the parties may agree to submit to the jurisdiction of another State. Even if all parties leave the State, the order continues in existence and is fully enforceable unless and until a modification takes place.

From the beginning of the implementation of this principle, questions have been raised about why a tribunal may not modify its own order if the parties agree that it should do so even after both parties have left the State. For example, the move may have been of a very short distance and, although the parties reside outside the issuing State, they prefer to continue to be governed by the same issuing tribunal. The parties may continue to have a strong affiliation with the issuing tribunal. For example, the child-support order may have be issued in Washington, DC, and ultimately the parties and child now reside in Virginia and Maryland, while continuing to work in D.C. The possibility that under such circumstances the parties might reasonably prefer to deal with the known quantity of the issuing tribunal convinced the Drafting Committee to accede to the wishes of the child-support community in this regard.

SECTION 206. ENFORCEMENT AND MODIFICATION OF SUPPORT ORDER BY TRIBUNAL HAVING CONTINUING JURISDICTION CONTINUING JURISDICTION TO ENFORCE CHILD-SUPPORT ORDER.

(a) A tribunal of this State that has issued a child-support order consistent with the law of this State may serve as an initiating tribunal to request a tribunal of another State to enforce or modify a support order issued in that State.:

(1) the order if the order is the controlling order and has not been modified by a tribunal of another State which assumed jurisdiction pursuant to this [Act]; or

(2) a money judgment for support arrears and interest on the order accumulated prior to a determination that an order of another State is the controlling order.

(b) A tribunal of this State having continuing, exclusive jurisdiction over a support order may act as a responding tribunal to enforce or modify the order. If a party subject to the continuing, exclusive jurisdiction of the tribunal no longer resides in the issuing State, in subsequent proceedings the tribunal may apply Section 316 (Special Rules of Evidence and Procedure) to receive evidence from another State and Section 318 (Assistance with Discovery) to obtain discovery through a tribunal of another State.

(c) A tribunal of this State which lacks continuing, exclusive jurisdiction over a spousal-support order may not serve as a responding tribunal to modify a spousal-support order of another State.

Section 206 reiterates that the issuing State has jurisdiction not only to modify its order, but also to serve as a responding State to enforce its own order at the request of another State.

SECTION 207. RECOGNITION OF CONTROLLING CHILD-SUPPORT ORDER.

(a) If a proceeding is brought under this [Act] and only one tribunal has issued a child-support order, the order of that tribunal controls and must be so recognized.

(b) If a proceeding is brought under this [Act], and two or more child-support orders have been issued by tribunals of this State or another State with regard to the same obligor and same child, a tribunal of this State having personal jurisdiction over both the obligor and individual obligee shall apply the following rules in determining and by order shall determine which order to recognize for purposes of continuing, exclusive jurisdiction:

(1) If only one of the tribunals would have continuing, exclusive jurisdiction under this [Act], the order of that tribunal controls and must be so recognized.

(2) If more than one of the tribunals would have continuing, exclusive jurisdiction under this [Act], an order issued by a tribunal in the current home State of the child controls and must be so recognized, but if an order has not been issued in the current home State of the child, the order most recently issued controls and must be so recognized.

(3) If none of the tribunals would have continuing, exclusive jurisdiction under this [Act], the tribunal of this State having jurisdiction over the parties shall issue a child-support order, which controls and must be so recognized.

(c) If two or more child-support orders have been issued for the same obligor and same child and if the obligor or the individual obligee resides in this State, an individual party or a support enforcement agency may request a tribunal of this State having personal jurisdiction over both the obligor and individual obligee to determine which order controls and must be so recognized under subsection (b). The request must be accompanied by a certified copy of every support order in effect. The requesting party shall give notice of the request to each party whose rights may be affected by the determination.

(d) The tribunal that issued the controlling order under subsection (a), (b), or (c) is the tribunal that has may exercise continuing, exclusive jurisdiction under Section to the extent provided in Sections 205 and 206.

(e) A tribunal of this State which determines by order the identity of the controlling order under subsection (b)(1) or (2) or subsection (c), or which issues a new controlling order under subsection (b)(3), shall state in that order the basis upon which the tribunal made its determination. In addition, the tribunal shall state:

(1) the amount of prospective support, if any; and

(2) the total amount of consolidated arrears and accrued interest, if any, that exist under all of the orders considered after crediting all payments made on each order.

(f) A request for determination of which is the controlling order must be accompanied by a copy of every support order in effect and the applicable record of payments. The requesting party shall give notice of the request to each party whose rights may be affected by the determination.

(f) (g) Within [30] days after issuance of an order determining the identity of which is the controlling order, the party obtaining the order shall file a certified copy of it with each tribunal that issued or registered an earlier order of child support. A party who obtains the order and fails to file a certified copy is subject to appropriate sanctions by a tribunal in which the issue of failure to file arises. The failure to file does not affect the validity or enforceability of the controlling order.

(h) An order that has been determined to be the controlling order, or a judgment for consolidated support arrears and interest, if any, made pursuant to this section must be so recognized in proceedings under this [Act].

Next to the introduction of continuing exclusive jurisdiction, the most dramatic change made by UIFSA to the prior URESA-RURESA world was to establish a system whereby the multiple orders created by those Uniform Acts could be reconciled and a transition could be made from a world with multiple child-support orders to a one-order world. This system developed by UIFSA has been incorporated into the full faith and credit requirements of 28 USC 1738B, Full Faith and Credit for Child Support Orders. The current formulation does not specifically require the tribunal that will determine which is the controlling order to have personal jurisdiction over both the obligor and the obligee. In order to bind both parties the tribunal must have such jurisdiction over both parties to make that determination.

Amendments to subsection (e) provide that the tribunal shall identify the details upon which it is making its order and to consolidate arrears and accrued interest to the extent possible.

SECTION 208. MULTIPLE CHILD-SUPPORT ORDERS FOR TWO OR MORE OBLIGEES. In responding to multiple registrations or [petitions] for enforcement of two or more child-support orders in effect at the same time with regard to the same obligor and different individual obligees, at least one of which was issued by a tribunal of another State, a tribunal of this State shall enforce those orders in the same manner as if the multiple orders had been issued by a tribunal of this State.

SECTION 209. CREDIT FOR PAYMENTS. Amounts collected and credited for a particular period pursuant to a support child-support order issued by a tribunal of another State must be credited against the amounts accruing or accrued for the same period under a support child-support order issued by the tribunal of this State.

SECTION 210. CONTINUING, EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION OVER NONRESIDENT PARTY. If a party subject to the continuing, exclusive jurisdiction of a tribunal of this State no longer resides in the issuing State, in subsequent proceedings the tribunal may apply Section 316 to receive evidence from another State and Section 318 to obtain discovery through a tribunal of another State. In all other respects, Articles 3 through 7 do not apply and the tribunal shall apply the procedural and substantive law of this State.

This is not new language, but rather current language moved from Section 206 to constitute a separate section.

SECTION 211. CONTINUING, EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION TO MODIFY SPOUSAL-SUPPORT ORDER.

(a) A tribunal of this State issuing a spousal-support order consistent with the law of this State has continuing, exclusive jurisdiction to modify the spousal-support order throughout the existence of the support obligation.

(b) A tribunal of this State may not modify a spousal-support order issued by a tribunal of another State having continuing, exclusive jurisdiction over that order under the law of that State.

(c) A tribunal of this State that has continuing, exclusive jurisdiction over a spousal-support order may serve as:

(1) an initiating tribunal to request a tribunal of another State to enforce the spousal-support order issued in this State; or

(2) a responding tribunal to enforce or modify its own spousal-support order.

Similarly, mandating continuing, exclusive jurisdiction of the issuing tribunal over its spousal support order is not new law, but rather is moved from its former place in Section 205. Complimentary provisions with regard to other aspects of CEJ over a spousal support order are also moved from Section 205.

SECTION 301. PROCEEDINGS UNDER [ACT].

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this [Act], this article applies to all proceedings under this [Act].

(b) This [Act] provides for the following proceedings:

(1) establishment of an order for spousal support or child support pursuant to Article 4;

(2) enforcement of a support order and income-withholding order of another State without registration pursuant to Article 5;

(3) registration of an order for spousal support or child support of another State for enforcement pursuant to Article 6;

(4) modification of an order for child support or spousal support issued by a tribunal of this State pursuant to Article 2;

(5) registration of an order for child support of another State for modification pursuant to Article 6;

(6) determination of parentage pursuant to Article 7; and

(7) assertion of jurisdiction over nonresidents pursuant to Article 2, Part 1.; and

(8) determination of the controlling order pursuant to Article 2.

(c) An individual [petitioner] or a support enforcement agency may commence a proceeding authorized under this [Act] by filing a [petition] in an initiating tribunal for forwarding to a responding tribunal or by filing a [petition] or a comparable pleading directly in a tribunal of another State which has or can obtain personal jurisdiction over the [respondent].

SECTION 302. ACTION BY MINOR PARENT. A minor parent, or a guardian or other legal representative of a minor parent, may maintain a proceeding on behalf of or for the benefit of the minor's child.

SECTION 303. APPLICATION OF LAW OF STATE. Except as otherwise provided by this [Act], a responding tribunal of this State:

(1) shall apply the procedural and substantive law , including the rules on choice of law, generally applicable to similar proceedings originating in this State and may exercise all powers and provide all remedies available in those proceedings; and

(2) shall determine the duty of support and the amount payable in accordance with the law and support guidelines of this State.

Choice of law rules are currently stated in two separate places in the Act, leading to some confusion. The version in Section 604 is retained and this reference is eliminated.

SECTION 304. DUTIES OF INITIATING TRIBUNAL.

(a) Upon the filing of a [petition] authorized by this [Act], an initiating tribunal of this State shall forward three copies of the [petition] and its accompanying documents:

(1) to the responding tribunal or appropriate support enforcement agency in the responding State; or

(2) if the identity of the responding tribunal is unknown, to the State information agency of the responding State with a request that they be forwarded to the appropriate tribunal and that receipt be acknowledged.

(b) If responding State has not enacted this [Act] or a law or procedure substantially similar to this [Act], a requested by the responding tribunal, a tribunal of this State may shall issue a certificate or other document and make findings required by the law of the responding State. If the responding State is a foreign jurisdiction, upon request the tribunal may shall specify the amount of support sought and, provide the equivalent amount in the foreign currency under applicable official exchange rates as publicly reported, or provide other documents necessary to satisfy the requirements of the responding State.

Subsection (b) is amended to continue the effort to facilitate enforcement of foreign support orders.

SECTION 305. DUTIES AND POWERS OF RESPONDING TRIBUNAL.

(a) When a responding tribunal of this State receives a [petition] or comparable pleading from an initiating tribunal or directly pursuant to Section 301(c) (Proceedings Under this [Act]), it shall cause the [petition] or pleading to be filed and notify the [petitioner] where and when it was filed.

(b) A responding tribunal of this State, to the extent otherwise authorized by law, may do one or more of the following:

(1) issue or enforce a support order, modify a child-support order, or render a judgment to determine parentage;

(2) order an obligor to comply with a support order, specifying the amount and the manner of compliance;

(3) order income withholding;

(4) determine the amount of any arrearages, and specify a method of payment;

(5) enforce orders by civil or criminal contempt, or both;

(6) set aside property for satisfaction of the support order;

(7) place liens and order execution on the obligor's property;

(8) order an obligor to keep the tribunal informed of the obligor's current residential address, telephone number, employer, address of employment, and telephone number at the place of employment;

(9) issue a [bench warrant; capias] for an obligor who has failed after proper notice to appear at a hearing ordered by the tribunal and enter the [bench warrant; capias] in any local and State computer systems for criminal warrants;

(10) order the obligor to seek appropriate employment by specified methods;

(11) award reasonable attorney's fees and other fees and costs; and

(12) grant any other available remedy.

(c) A responding tribunal of this State shall include in a support order issued under this [Act], or in the documents accompanying the order, the calculations on which the support order is based.

(d) A responding tribunal of this State may not condition the payment of a support order issued under this [Act] upon compliance by a party with provisions for visitation.

(e) If a responding tribunal of this State issues an order under this [Act], the tribunal shall send a copy of the order to the [petitioner] and the [respondent] and to the initiating tribunal, if any.

(f) If requested to enforce or modify a support order, arrears, or judgment stated in a foreign currency, a responding tribunal of this State shall convert the amount stated in the foreign currency amount to the equivalent amount in dollars under applicable official exchange rates as publicly reported.

Subsection (f) is designed to facilitate enforcement of foreign support orders.

SECTION 306. INAPPROPRIATE TRIBUNAL. If a [petition] or comparable pleading is received by an inappropriate tribunal of this State, it shall forward the pleading and accompanying documents to an appropriate tribunal in this State or another State and notify the [petitioner] where and when the pleading was sent.

SECTION 307. DUTIES OF SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT AGENCY.

(a) A support enforcement agency of this State, upon request, shall provide services to a [petitioner] in a proceeding under this [Act].

(b) A support enforcement agency of this State that is providing services to the [petitioner] as appropriate shall:

(1) take all steps necessary to enable an appropriate tribunal in this State or another State to obtain jurisdiction over the [respondent];

(2) request an appropriate tribunal to set a date, time, and place for a hearing;

(3) make a reasonable effort to obtain all relevant information, including information as to income and property of the parties;

(4) within [two] days, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, after receipt of a written notice in a record from an initiating, responding, or registering tribunal, send a copy of the notice to the [petitioner];

(5) within [two] days, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, after receipt of a written communication in a record from the [respondent] or the [respondent's] attorney, send a copy of the communication to the [petitioner]; and

(6) notify the [petitioner] if jurisdiction over the [respondent] cannot be obtained.;

(7) upon making a request to register and enforce or register and modify a support order in this State or another State, make reasonable efforts to ensure that the order registered is the controlling order or, if two or more support orders exist and which is the controlling order has not been determined, to request the registering tribunal to determine which is the controlling order if that tribunal has jurisdiction to do so under Section 207 and to notify all parties affected;

(8) upon request to register and enforce a support order, arrears, or judgment stated in a foreign currency, convert the amounts stated in the foreign currency into the equivalent amounts in dollars under applicable official exchange rates as publicly reported; and

(9) upon request of a support enforcement agency of another State providing services to the obligee, [issue or] request a tribunal of this State to issue a child-support order and an income-withholding order that redirect payment of current support, arrears, and interest as provided in Section 319.

(c) This [Act] does not create or negate a relationship of attorney and client or other fiduciary relationship between a support enforcement agency or the attorney for the agency and the individual being assisted by the agency.

The new provisions of subsection (b)(7)-(8) are procedural clarifications suggested by the child-support advisors reflecting actual practice of the support agencies developed after years of experience with the Act. Subsection (b)(9) must be read in conjunction with Section 319, infra, to permit States a choice to allow support enforcement agencies the authority to redirect the stream of payments of child support to more efficiently be received by the obligee.

SECTION 308. DUTY OF [ATTORNEY GENERAL STATE OFFICIAL OR AGENCY].

(a) If the Attorney General [appropriate State official or agency] determines that the support enforcement agency is neglecting or refusing to provide services to an individual, the Attorney General [State official or agency] may order the agency to perform its duties under this [Act] or may provide those services directly to the individual.

(b) The [appropriate State official or agency] may determine that a foreign jurisdiction has established a child-support reciprocity arrangement with this State and [take appropriate action for notification of the determination].

These amendments expand make clear that a State has a variety of options to regulate its support enforcement program, including the power to determine which foreign support orders will be recognized for enforcement.

SECTION 309. PRIVATE COUNSEL. An individual may employ private counsel to represent the individual in proceedings authorized by this [Act].

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].

(b) The state information agency shall:

(1) compile and maintain a current list, including addresses, of the tribunals in this State which have jurisdiction under this [Act] and any support enforcement agencies in this State and transmit a copy to the state information agency of every other State;

(2) maintain a register of tribunals and support enforcement agencies received from other States;

(3) forward to the appropriate tribunal in the place in this State in which the individual obligee or the obligor resides, or in which the obligor's property is believed to be located, all documents concerning a proceeding under this [Act] received from an initiating tribunal or the state information agency of the initiating State; and

(4) obtain information concerning the location of the obligor and the obligor's property within this State not exempt from execution, by such means as postal verification and federal or state locator services, examination of telephone directories, requests for the obligor's address from employers, and examination of governmental records, including, to the extent not prohibited by other law, those relating to real property, vital statistics, law enforcement, taxation, motor vehicles, driver's licenses, and social security.

SECTION 311. PLEADINGS AND ACCOMPANYING DOCUMENTS.

(a) A In a proceeding under this [Act], a [petitioner] seeking to establish or modify a support order, or to determine parentage in a proceeding under this [Act], or to register and modify a support order of another State must verify the file a [petition]. Unless otherwise ordered under Section 312 (Nondisclosure of Information in Exceptional Circumstances), the [petition] or accompanying documents must provide, so far as known, the name, residential address, and social security numbers of the obligor and the obligee, and the name, sex, residential address, social security number, and date of birth of each child for whom whose benefit support is sought. The Unless filed at the time of registration, the [petition] must be accompanied by a certified copy of any support order in effect known to have been issued by another tribunal. The [petition] may include any other information that may assist in locating or identifying the [respondent].

(b) The [petition] must specify the relief sought. The [petition] and accompanying documents must conform substantially with the requirements imposed by the forms mandated by federal law for use in cases filed by a support enforcement agency.

SECTION 312. NONDISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION IN EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES. Upon a finding, which may be made ex parte, that the health, safety, or liberty of a party or child would be unreasonably put at risk by the disclosure of identifying information, or if an existing order so provides, a tribunal shall order that the address of the child or party or other identifying information not be disclosed in a pleading or other document filed in a proceeding under this [Act]. If a party alleges in an affidavit or a pleading under oath that the health, safety, or liberty of a party or child would be jeopardized by disclosure of specific identifying information, that information must be sealed and may not be disclosed to the other party or the public. After a hearing in which a tribunal takes into consideration the health, safety, or liberty of the party or child, the tribunal may order disclosure of that information that the tribunal determines to be in the interest of justice.

Section 312 is modeled on the latest rewrite of the domestic violence inspired nondisclosure of information first formulated in UIFSA in 1992. The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) rewrote that provision; the more modern version is adopted.

SECTION 313. COSTS AND FEES.

(a) The [petitioner] may not be required to pay a filing fee or other costs.

(b) If an obligee prevails, a responding tribunal may assess against an obligor filing fees, reasonable attorney's fees, other costs, and necessary travel and other reasonable expenses incurred by the obligee and the obligee's witnesses. The tribunal may not assess fees, costs, or expenses against the obligee or the support enforcement agency of either the initiating or the responding State, except as provided by other law. Attorney's fees may be taxed as costs, and may be ordered paid directly to the attorney, who may enforce the order in the attorney's own name. Payment of support owed to the obligee has priority over fees, costs and expenses.

(c) The tribunal shall order the payment of costs and reasonable attorney's fees if it determines that a hearing was requested primarily for delay. In a proceeding under Article 6 (Enforcement and Modification of Support Order After Registration), a hearing is presumed to have been requested primarily for delay if a registered support order is confirmed or enforced without change.

SECTION 314. LIMITED IMMUNITY OF [PETITIONER].

(a) Participation by a [petitioner] in a proceeding under this [Act] before a responding tribunal, whether in person, by private attorney, or through services provided by the support enforcement agency, does not confer personal jurisdiction over the [petitioner] in another proceeding.

(b) A [petitioner] is not amenable to service of civil process while physically present in this State to participate in a proceeding under this [Act].

(c) The immunity granted by this section does not extend to civil litigation based on acts unrelated to a proceeding under this [Act] committed by a party while present in this State to participate in the proceeding.

SECTION 315. NONPARENTAGE AS DEFENSE. A party whose parentage of a child has been previously determined by or pursuant to law may not plead nonparentage as a defense to a proceeding under this [Act].

SECTION 316. SPECIAL RULES OF EVIDENCE AND PROCEDURE.

(a) The physical presence of the [petitioner] an individual, nonresident party in a responding tribunal of this State is not required for the establishment, enforcement, or modification of a support order or the rendition of a judgment determining parentage.

(b) A verified [petition], An affidavit, document substantially complying with federally mandated forms, and a document incorporated by reference in any of them, which would not be excluded under the hearsay rule if given in person, is admissible in evidence if given under oath penalty of perjury by a party or witness residing in another State.

(c) A copy of the record of child-support payments certified as a true copy of the original by the custodian of the record may be forwarded to a responding tribunal. The copy is evidence of facts asserted in it, and is admissible to show whether payments were made.

(d) Copies of bills for testing for parentage, and for prenatal and postnatal health care of the mother and child, furnished to the adverse party at least [ten] days before trial, are admissible in evidence to prove the amount of the charges billed and that the charges were reasonable, necessary, and customary.

(e) Documentary evidence transmitted from another State to a tribunal of this State by telephone, telecopier, or other means that do not provide an original writing record may not be excluded from evidence on an objection based on the means of transmission.

(f) In a proceeding under this [Act], a tribunal of this State may shall permit a party or witness residing in another State to be deposed or to testify under penalty of perjury by telephone, audiovisual means, or other electronic means at a designated tribunal or other location in that State. A tribunal of this State shall cooperate with tribunals of other States in designating an appropriate location for the deposition or testimony.

(g) If a party called to testify at a civil hearing refuses to answer on the ground that the testimony may be self-incriminating, the trier of fact may draw an adverse inference from the refusal.

(h) A privilege against disclosure of communications between spouses does not apply in a proceeding under this [Act].

(i) The defense of immunity based on the relationship of husband and wife or parent and child does not apply in a proceeding under this [Act].

(j) A voluntary acknowledgment of paternity, certified as a true copy, is admissible to establish parentage of the child.

The amendment to subsection (a) ensures that either a nonresident petitioner or a nonresident respondent may fully participate in a proceeding under this Act without being required to appear personally. This was always the intent of the provision, but was ambiguously written, at best.

Subsection (b) recognizes the pervasive effect of the federal forms promulgated by the Office of Child Support Enforcement, HHS. The necessity of swearing to a document ""under oath" is replaced by the simpler requirement that the document by given "under penalty of perjury," just as the federal income tax form 1040 requires.

Subsection (c) federally mandated procedure for "acknowledgment of paternity" now in effect in every State.

SECTION 317. COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN TRIBUNALS. A tribunal of this State may communicate with a tribunal of another State in writing, or by telephone or other means, to obtain information concerning the laws of that State, the legal effect of a judgment, decree, or order of that tribunal, and the status of a proceeding in the other State. A tribunal of this State may furnish similar information by similar means to a tribunal of another State.

SECTION 318. ASSISTANCE WITH DISCOVERY. A tribunal of this State may:

(1) request a tribunal of another State to assist in obtaining discovery; and

(2) upon request, compel a person over whom it has jurisdiction to respond to a discovery order issued by a tribunal of another State.

SECTION 319. RECEIPT AND DISBURSEMENT OF PAYMENTS.

(a) A support enforcement agency or tribunal of this State shall disburse promptly any amounts received pursuant to a support order, as directed by the order. The agency or tribunal shall furnish to a requesting party or tribunal of another State a certified statement by the custodian of the record of the amounts and dates of all payments received.

(b) If the obligor, individual obligee, and the child do not reside in this State, upon request from the support enforcement agency of this State or another State, [the support enforcement agency of this State or] a tribunal of this State shall:

(1) direct that the support payment be made to the support enforcement agency in the State in which the obligee is receiving services; and

(2) issue a conforming income-withholding order or an administrative notice of change of payee, reflecting the redirected payments.

(c) The support enforcement agency of this State receiving redirected payments pursuant to subsection (b) shall furnish to a requesting party or tribunal of another State a certified statement by the custodian of the record of the amount and dates of all payments received.

The amendments to Section 319 are inspired by the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Subsections (b) and (c) provide for support enforcement agencies to cooperate in the efficient and expeditious collection and transfer of child support from obligor to obligee. States should choose whether only a tribunal may order redirection of support payments, or whether a support enforcement agency should also be authorized to render such an order. The basic idea is that redirection of payments will be facilitated, with the proviso that the issuing tribunal be kept informed as to the disposition of the payments made under its order.

SECTION 401. [PETITION] TO ESTABLISH SUPPORT ORDER.

(a) If a support order entitled to recognition under this [Act] has not been issued, a responding tribunal of this State may issue a support order if:

(1) the individual seeking the order resides in another State; or

(2) the support enforcement agency seeking the order is located in another State.

(b) The tribunal may issue a temporary child-support order if the tribunal determines that such an order is appropriate and the individual ordered to pay is:

(1) a presumed father of the child;

(2) petitioning to have his paternity adjudicated;

(3) identified as the father of the child through genetic testing;

(4) an alleged father who has declined to submit to genetic testing;

(5) shown by clear and convincing evidence to be the father of the child;

(6) an acknowledged father as provided by [applicable State law];

(7) the mother of the child; or

(8) an individual who has been ordered to pay child support in a previous proceeding that has not been reversed or vacated.

(1) the [respondent] has signed a verified statement acknowledging parentage;

(2) the [respondent] has been determined by or pursuant to law to be the parent; or

(3) there is other clear and convincing evidence that the [respondent] is the child's parent.

(c) Upon finding, after notice and opportunity to be heard, that an obligor owes a duty of support, the tribunal shall issue a support order directed to the obligor and may issue other orders pursuant to Section 305 (Duties and Powers of Responding Tribunal).

This amendment expands the categories of individuals who may appropriately be ordered to pay temporary child support based on their conduct indicating a sufficient nexus with a child due support to warrant such an order.

SECTION 501. EMPLOYER'S RECEIPT OF INCOME-WITHHOLDING ORDER OF ANOTHER STATE. An income-withholding order issued in another State may be sent by or on behalf of the obligee, or by the support enforcement agency, to the person or entity defined as the obligor's employer under [the income-withholding law of this State] without first filing a [petition] or comparable pleading or registering the order with a tribunal of this State.

SECTION 502. EMPLOYER'S COMPLIANCE WITH INCOME-WITHHOLDING ORDER OF ANOTHER STATE.

(a) Upon receipt of an income-withholding order, the obligor's employer shall immediately provide a copy of the order to the obligor.

(b) The employer shall treat an income-withholding order issued in another State which appears regular on its face as if it had been issued by a tribunal of this State.

(c) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (d) and Section 503, the employer shall withhold and distribute the funds as directed in the withholding order by complying with terms of the order which specify:

(1) the duration and amount of periodic payments of current child-support, stated as a sum certain;

(2) the person or agency designated to receive payments and the address to which the payments are to be forwarded;

(3) medical support, whether in the form of periodic cash payment, stated as a sum certain, or ordering the obligor to provide health insurance coverage for the child under a policy available through the obligor's employment;

(4) the amount of periodic payments of fees and costs for a support enforcement agency, the issuing tribunal, and the obligee's attorney, stated as sums certain; and

(5) the amount of periodic payments of arrearages and interest on arrearages, stated as sums certain.

(d) An employer shall comply with the law of the State of the obligor's principal place of employment for withholding from income with respect to:

(1) the employer's fee for processing an income-withholding order;

(2) the maximum amount permitted to be withheld from the obligor's income; and

(3) the times within which the employer must implement the withholding order and forward the child-support payment.

SECTION 503. EMPLOYER'S COMPLIANCE WITH MULTIPLE INCOME-WITHHOLDING ORDERS. If an obligor's employer receives multiple income-withholding orders with respect to the earnings of the same obligor, the employer satisfies the terms of the multiple orders if the employer complies with the law of the State of the obligor's principal place of employment to establish the priorities for withholding and allocating income withheld for multiple child-support obligees.

SECTION 504. IMMUNITY FROM CIVIL LIABILITY. An employer who complies with an income-withholding order issued in another State in accordance with this article is not subject to civil liability to an individual or agency with regard to the employer's withholding of child support from the obligor's income.

SECTION 505. PENALTIES FOR NONCOMPLIANCE. An employer who willfully fails to comply with an income-withholding order issued by another State and received for enforcement is subject to the same penalties that may be imposed for noncompliance with an order issued by a tribunal of this State.

SECTION 506. CONTEST BY OBLIGOR.

(a) An obligor may contest the validity or enforcement of an income-withholding order issued in another State and received directly by an employer in this State by registering the order in a tribunal of this State and filing a contest to that order as provided in [Article] 6, or otherwise contesting the order in the same manner as if the order had been issued by a tribunal of this State. Section 604 (Choice of Law) applies to the contest.

(b) The obligor shall give notice of the contest to:

(1) a support enforcement agency providing services to the obligee;

(2) each employer that has directly received an income-withholding order; and

(3) the person or agency designated to receive payments in the income-withholding order or if no person or agency is designated, to the obligee.

SECTION 507. ADMINISTRATIVE ENFORCEMENT OF ORDERS.

(a) A party seeking to enforce a support order or an income-withholding order, or both, issued by a tribunal of another State may send the documents required for registering the order to a support enforcement agency of this State.

(b) Upon receipt of the documents, the support enforcement agency, without initially seeking to register the order, shall consider and, if appropriate, use any administrative procedure authorized by the law of this State to enforce a support order or an income-withholding order, or both. If the obligor does not contest administrative enforcement, the order need not be registered. If the obligor contests the validity or administrative enforcement of the order, the support enforcement agency shall register the order pursuant to this [Act].

SECTION 601. REGISTRATION OF ORDER FOR ENFORCEMENT. A support order or an income-withholding order issued by a tribunal of another State may be registered in this State for enforcement.

SECTION 602. PROCEDURE TO REGISTER ORDER FOR ENFORCEMENT.

(a) A support order or income-withholding order of another State may be registered in this State by sending the following documents records and information to the [appropriate tribunal] in this State:

(1) a letter of transmittal to the tribunal requesting registration and enforcement;

(2) two copies, including one certified copy, of all orders the order to be registered, including any modification of an that order;

(3) a sworn statement by the party seeking registration or a certified statement by the custodian of the records showing the amount of any arrearage;

(4) the name of the obligor and, if known:

(i) the obligor's address and social security number;

(ii) the name and address of the obligor's employer and any other source of income of the obligor; and

(iii) a description and the location of property of the obligor in this State not exempt from execution; and

(5) except as otherwise provided in Section 312, the name and address of the obligee and, if applicable, the agency or person to whom support payments are to be remitted.

(b) On receipt of a request for registration, the registering tribunal shall cause the order to be filed as a foreign judgment, together with one copy of the documents and information, regardless of their form.

(c) A [petition] or comparable pleading seeking a remedy that must be affirmatively sought under other law of this State may be filed at the same time as the request for registration or later. The pleading must specify the grounds for the remedy sought.

(d) If two or more orders are in effect, the requester shall:

(1) furnish to the tribunal a copy of every support order asserted to be in effect in addition to the documents specified in this section; and

(2) specify the order alleged to be the controlling order, if any; and

(3) specify the amount of consolidated arrears, if any.

(e) A request for a determination of which is the controlling order may be filed in conjunction with a request for registration and enforcement or registration and modification. The requester shall give notice of the request to each party whose rights may be affected by the determination.

Section 602(b) and (e) amplify the procedures to be followed when two or more child-support orders exist and registration for enforcement is sought. In such instances, the requester is directed to furnish the tribunal with sufficient information and documentation in order for a controlling order determination to be made as provided by Section 207.

SECTION 603. EFFECT OF REGISTRATION FOR ENFORCEMENT.

(a) A support order or income-withholding order issued in another State is registered when the order is filed in the registering tribunal of this State.

(b) A registered order issued in another State is enforceable in the same manner and is subject to the same procedures as an order issued by a tribunal of this State.

(c) Except as otherwise provided in this article, a tribunal of this State shall recognize and enforce, but may not modify, a registered order if the issuing tribunal had jurisdiction.

SECTION 604. CHOICE OF LAW.

(a) The Except as otherwise provided in subsection (d), the law of the issuing State governs:

(1) the nature, extent, amount, and duration of current payments and other obligations of support and under the support order;

(2) the computation and payment of arrearages and accrual of interest on the arrearages under the support order; and

(3) the existence and satisfaction of other obligations under the support order.

(b) In a proceeding for arrearages, the statute of limitation under the laws of this State or of the issuing State, whichever is longer, applies.

(c) A responding tribunal of this State shall apply the procedures and remedies of this State to enforce current support and collect arrearages and interest due on a support order of another State.

(d) After a tribunal of this or another State determines which is the controlling order and issues an order consolidating arrears, if any, a tribunal of this State shall prospectively apply the law of the State issuing the controlling order, including its law on interest on arrears, on current and future support, and on consolidated arrears.

The amendments to subsection (a) are intended to clarify the range of subjects that are governed by the choice of law rules established in this section.

Subsection (c) mandates that local law controls with regard to enforcement procedures. For example, if the issuing State has enacted a wide variety of license suspension statutes, while the responding State has a much narrower list of license suspension, local law prevails. On the other hand, subsection (d) directs that the law of the issuing State is superior with regard to the terms of the support order itself. In sum, the local tribunal applies familiar procedures to enforce a support order which is clearly the order of another State, and not an order of the forum.

SECTION 605. NOTICE OF REGISTRATION OF ORDER.

(a) When a support order or income-withholding order issued in another State is registered, the registering tribunal shall notify the nonregistering party. The notice must be accompanied by a copy of the registered order and the documents and relevant information accompanying the order.

(b) The A notice must inform the nonregistering party:

(1) that a registered order is enforceable as of the date of registration in the same manner as an order issued by a tribunal of this State;

(2) that a hearing to contest the validity or enforcement of the registered order must be requested within [20] days after notice;

(3) that failure to contest the validity or enforcement of the registered order in a timely manner will result in confirmation of the order and enforcement of the order and the alleged arrearages; and

(4) of the amount of any alleged arrearages

(c) Upon registration of an income-withholding order for enforcement, the registering tribunal shall notify the obligor's employer pursuant to [the income-withholding law of this State].

(d) If the registering party asserts that two or more orders are in effect, a notice must also:

(1) identify the two or more orders and the order specified by the registering party as the presumed controlling order, if any, and the consolidated arrears, if any;

(2) notify the nonregistering party of the right to a determination of which is the controlling order;

(3) state that the procedures provided in subsection (b) apply to the determination of which is the controlling order; and

(4) state that failure to contest the validity or enforcement of the presumed controlling order in a timely manner will result in confirmation of the order as the controlling order.

Section 605 is correlative to Section 602 regarding notice to be given if a controlling order determination must be made because of the existence of two or more child-support orders.

SECTION 606. PROCEDURE TO CONTEST VALIDITY OR ENFORCEMENT OF REGISTERED ORDER.

(a) A nonregistering party seeking to contest the validity or enforcement of a registered order in this State shall request a hearing within [20] days after notice of the registration. The nonregistering party may seek to vacate the registration, to assert any defense to an allegation of noncompliance with the registered order, or to contest the remedies being sought or the amount of any alleged arrearages pursuant to Section 607 (Contest of Registration or Enforcement).

(b) If the nonregistering party fails to contest the validity or enforcement of the registered order in a timely manner, the order is confirmed by operation of law.

(c) If a nonregistering party requests a hearing to contest the validity or enforcement of the registered order, the registering tribunal shall schedule the matter for hearing and give notice to the parties of the date, time, and place of the hearing.

SECTION 607. CONTEST OF REGISTRATION OR ENFORCEMENT.

(a) A party contesting the validity or enforcement of a registered order or seeking to vacate the registration has the burden of proving one or more of the following defenses:

(1) the issuing tribunal lacked personal jurisdiction over the contesting party;

(2) the order was obtained by fraud;

(3) the order has been vacated, suspended, or modified by a later order;

(4) the issuing tribunal has stayed the order pending appeal;

(5) there is a defense under the law of this State to the remedy sought;

(6) full or partial payment has been made; or

(7) the statute of limitation under Section 604 (Choice of Law) precludes enforcement of some or all of the alleged arrearages; or

(8) the alleged controlling order is not the controlling order.

(b) If a party presents evidence establishing a full or partial defense under subsection (a), a tribunal may stay enforcement of the registered order, continue the proceeding to permit production of additional relevant evidence, and issue other appropriate orders. An uncontested portion of the registered order may be enforced by all remedies available under the law of this State.

(c) If the contesting party does not establish a defense under subsection (a) to the validity or enforcement of the order, the registering tribunal shall issue an order confirming the order.

SECTION 608. CONFIRMED ORDER. Confirmation of a registered order, whether by operation of law or after notice and hearing, precludes further contest of the order with respect to any matter that could have been asserted at the time of registration.

SECTION 609. PROCEDURE TO REGISTER CHILD-SUPPORT ORDER OF ANOTHER STATE FOR MODIFICATION. A party or support enforcement agency seeking to modify, or to modify and enforce, a child-support order issued in another State shall register that order in this State in the same manner provided in Part 1 if the order has not been registered. A [petition] for modification may be filed at the same time as a request for registration, or later. The pleading must specify the grounds for modification.

SECTION 610. EFFECT OF REGISTRATION FOR MODIFICATION. A tribunal of this State may enforce a child-support order of another State registered for purposes of modification, in the same manner as if the order had been issued by a tribunal of this State, but the registered order may be modified only if the requirements of Section 611 (Modification of Child-Support Order of Another State) have been met.

SECTION 611. MODIFICATION OF CHILD-SUPPORT ORDER OF ANOTHER STATE.

(a) After If Section 613 does not apply and except as otherwise provided in Section 615, upon [petition] a tribunal of this State may modify a child-support order issued in another State has been which is registered in this State, the responding] tribunal of this State may modify that order only if Section 613 does not apply and if, after notice and hearing it, the tribunal finds that:

(1) the following requirements are met:

(i) the child, the individual obligee, and the obligor do not reside in the issuing State;

(ii) a [petitioner] who is a nonresident of this State seeks modification; and

(iii) the [respondent] is subject to the personal jurisdiction of the tribunal of this State; or

(2) the child, or a party who is an individual, is subject to the personal jurisdiction of the tribunal of this State and all of the parties who are individuals have filed written consents in a record in the issuing tribunal for a tribunal of this State to modify the support order and assume continuing, exclusive jurisdiction over the order. However, if the issuing State is a foreign jurisdiction that has not enacted a law or established procedures substantially similar to the procedures under this [Act], the consent otherwise required of an individual residing in this State is not required for the tribunal to assume jurisdiction to modify the child-support order.

(b) Modification of a registered child-support order is subject to the same requirements, procedures, and defenses that apply to the modification of an order issued by a tribunal of this State and the order may be enforced and satisfied in the same manner.

(c) A tribunal of this State may not modify any aspect of a child-support order that may not be modified under the law of the issuing State, including the duration of the obligation of support. If two or more tribunals have issued child-support orders for the same obligor and child, the order that controls and must be so recognized under Section 207 establishes the aspects of the support order which are nonmodifiable.

(d) In a proceeding to modify a child-support order, the law of the State that is determined to have issued the initial controlling order governs the duration of the obligation of support. The obligor's fulfillment of the duty of support established by that order precludes imposition of a further obligation of support by a tribunal of this State.

(e) On the issuance of an order by a tribunal of this State modifying a child-support order issued in another State, a the tribunal of this State becomes the tribunal having continuing, exclusive jurisdiction.

Section 611(d) is designed to eliminate a few court-inspired attempts to subvert an important policy decision originally made by UIFSA. Prior to its enactment, case law was thoroughly in chaos with regard to the duration of a child-support obligation when an obligor or obligee moved from one State to another with different ages of majority. Whether the child-support obligation ended, extended, or was curtailed was left almost to chance. In a URESA proceeding, on the obligee's motion some States would increase the duration of the support obligation when the obligor resided in a State with a higher age for the child support obligation. Other States decreased the obligor's duration of child support when the obligor was sued in an independent action under URESA and countered with a request that the URESA order reflect the shorter duration of the obligation in accordance with local law. Still others refused to alter the duration of support. Multiple durations of the support obligation as well as multiple support amounts were the major problem areas addressed by UIFSA.

UIFSA determined that the duration of child-support obligation should be fixed by the controlling order. Moreover, the original time frame for support would not be modifiable unless the law of the issuing State provides for modification of its duration. Some courts have sought to subvert this policy by holding that completion of the obligation to support a child through age 18 by the issuing States does not preclude the imposition of a new obligation thereafter to support the child through age 21 or even to age 23 if the child is enrolled in higher education. Subsection (d) is designed to eliminate attempts to create multiple, albeit successive, support obligations.

SECTION 612. RECOGNITION OF ORDER MODIFIED IN ANOTHER STATE. A If a child-support order issued by a tribunal of this State shall recognize a modification of its earlier child-support order is modified by a tribunal of another State which assumed jurisdiction pursuant to this [Act] or a law substantially similar to this [Act] and, upon request, except as otherwise provided in this [Act], shall, a tribunal of this State:

(1) may enforce the its order that was modified only as to amounts arrears and interest accruing before the modification;

(2) [enforce only nonmodifiable aspects of that order;

(3) may provide other appropriate relief only for violations of that its order which occurred before the effective date of the modification; and

(4) (3) shall recognize the modifying order of the other State, upon registration, for the purpose of enforcement.

SECTION 613. JURISDICTION TO MODIFY CHILD-SUPPORT ORDER OF ANOTHER STATE WHEN INDIVIDUAL PARTIES RESIDE IN THIS STATE.

(a) If all of the parties who are individuals reside in this State and the child does not reside in the issuing State, a tribunal of this State has jurisdiction to enforce and to modify the issuing State's child-support order in a proceeding to register that order.

(b) A tribunal of this State exercising jurisdiction under this section shall apply the provisions of Articles 1 and 2, this article, and the procedural and substantive law of this State to the proceeding for enforcement or modification. Articles 3, 4, 5, 7, and 8 do not apply.

SECTION 614. NOTICE TO ISSUING TRIBUNAL OF MODIFICATION. Within [30] days after issuance of a modified child-support order, the party obtaining the modification shall file a certified copy of the order with the issuing tribunal that had continuing, exclusive jurisdiction over the earlier order, and in each tribunal in which the party knows the earlier order has been registered. A party who obtains the order and fails to file a certified copy is subject to appropriate sanctions by a tribunal in which the issue of failure to file arises. The failure to file does not affect the validity or enforceability of the modified order of the new tribunal having continuing, exclusive jurisdiction.

SECTION 615. JURISDICTION TO MODIFY FOREIGN SUPPORT ORDER.

(a) If a foreign jurisdiction that is recognized as a State pursuant to Section 101(20) pursuant to its laws, will not or may not exercise jurisdiction to modify its order, a tribunal of this State may assume jurisdiction to modify the support order and bind all individuals subject to the personal jurisdiction of the tribunal whether or not the consent to modification of a support order otherwise required of the individual pursuant to Section 611 has been given or whether the individual seeking modification is a resident of this State or of the foreign jurisdiction.

(b) The burden of proof is on the individual seeking modification to show that the foreign jurisdiction will not or may not exercise its jurisdiction to modify its own order.

(c) An order issued pursuant to this section is the controlling order.

Section 615 is a new provision that permits modification of a foreign support order when a tribunal of the foreign State would have jurisdiction to modify its order under the standards of UIFSA, but the foreign jurisdiction will not or may not exercise that jurisdiction to modify its order under the standards of its law. In such an instance, a tribunal of this State may modify the order if it has personal jurisdiction over both parties, including jurisdiction over the absent petitioner due to submission to jurisdiction of this State due to the request for modification of the support order.

SECTION 701. PROCEEDING TO DETERMINE PARENTAGE.

(a) A tribunal of this State may serve as an initiating or responding tribunal in a proceeding brought under this [Act] or a law or procedure substantially similar to this [Act], the Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act, or the Revised Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act to determine that the [petitioner] is a parent of a particular child or to determine that a [respondent] is a parent of that child.

(b) In a proceeding to determine parentage, a responding tribunal of this State shall apply the [Uniform Parentage Act; procedural and substantive law of this State,] and the rules of this State on choice of law.

SECTION 801. GROUNDS FOR RENDITION.

(a) For purposes of this article, "governor" includes an individual performing the functions of governor or the executive authority of a State covered by this [Act].

(b) The governor of this State may:

(1) demand that the governor of another State surrender an individual found in the other State who is charged criminally in this State with having failed to provide for the support of an obligee; or

(2) on the demand by the governor of another State, surrender an individual found in this State who is charged criminally in the other State with having failed to provide for the support of an obligee.

(c) A provision for extradition of individuals not inconsistent with this [Act] applies to the demand even if the individual whose surrender is demanded was not in the demanding State when the crime was allegedly committed and has not fled therefrom.

SECTION 802. CONDITIONS OF RENDITION.

(a) Before making a demand that the governor of another State surrender an individual charged criminally in this State with having failed to provide for the support of an obligee, the governor of this State may require a prosecutor of this State to demonstrate that at least [60] days previously the obligee had initiated proceedings for support pursuant to this [Act] or that the proceeding would be of no avail.

(b) If, under this [Act] or a law substantially similar to this [Act], the Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act, or the Revised Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act the governor of another State makes a demand that the governor of this State surrender an individual charged criminally in that State with having failed to provide for the support of a child or other individual to whom a duty of support is owed, the governor may require a prosecutor to investigate the demand and report whether a proceeding for support has been initiated or would be effective. If it appears that a proceeding would be effective but has not been initiated, the governor may delay honoring the demand for a reasonable time to permit the initiation of a proceeding.

(c) If a proceeding for support has been initiated and the individual whose rendition is demanded prevails, the governor may decline to honor the demand. If the [petitioner] prevails and the individual whose rendition is demanded is subject to a support order, the governor may decline to honor the demand if the individual is complying with the support order.

SECTION 901. UNIFORMITY OF APPLICATION AND CONSTRUCTION. This [Act] shall be applied and construed to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law with respect to the subject of this [Act] among States enacting it.

SECTION 902. SHORT TITLE. This [Act] may be cited as the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (2001).

SECTION 903. SEVERABILITY CLAUSE. If any provision of this [Act] or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of this [Act] which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this [Act] are severable.

SECTION 904. EFFECTIVE DATE. This [Act] takes effect ....................... .

SECTION 905. REPEALS. The following acts and parts of acts are hereby repealed:

(1)

(2)

(3)