If you have a child support problem, and the other parent lives in another state: Keep reading!
Community Caretaking Function
How child support is calculated plus the modification of that support when the parties live in different states, is a particularly complex area of family law. Common questions parents ask are:
- In which should I file the action for child support?
- What if I or the other parent move to a different state?
- Whose method of counting does a state rely on?
- Are there varying differences in child support from State A to the State B?
Answers can be complex, and the legal and financial implications for parents can range widely. It is helpful to understand some of the fundamentals of interstate child support law. With that knowledge, and the assistance of a lawyer, parents can protect their own and (most importantly) their children’s financial interests.
Uniform Interstate Family Support Act
These are the laws of the State where they enacted its versions of UIFSA into law. It provides that parties will have consistency as they move across the country in theapplication of some child support laws. It identifies the controlling state for child support purposes and provides a procedure through which parties may seek to institute or modify child-support orders involving more than one state.
There is not “a uniform mechanism for calculating child support provided in UIFSA.” It regulates the process, but not the monetary aspects, of multi-state actions for child support. UIFSA leaves this up to the states and each state has its own method for determining the amounts. “But it can still control the level of child support by controlling whose state’s calculations are going to be employed.”
In a sense the UIFSA is thorough: there are very clear outlines to what it covers. But many dimensions of child support are left up to the states themselves. And while UIFSA is thorough, it’s complicated — getting responses to questions about specifics requires quite a bit of what lawyers call reading and cross-referencing.
I want to make this topic easy and give you some quick tips, so let’s tackle a few of the more frequently asked questions about multi-state child support.
There Is No Child Support Order In Place Yet. Where Do I File The Case?
If child support is not ordered, then you have two options:
A. You file in the state that holds “personal jurisdiction” over the other party (usually only where the other party lives, but sometimes there are exceptions).
B. You can file in your state and it will forward the case to the other parent’s state. In that situation the state you file in is called the “initiating tribunal” and the other state a “responding tribunal.”
Say the parent who is filing the case (you) lives in New Mexico and the other parent lives in Florida. Whether you are filing in Florida or file a New Mexico action and have it transferred to Florida, the law will be Florida.
This is important. States calculate child support differently. A second state might credit child support for health insurance paid by the obligor. One could adjust the amount of parenting time that an obligor exercises. One factor could include both parents’ incomes, the other just the obligor’s.
Child Support Is Already In Place. I Want to Enforce It. What Do I Do?
Act as if child support was ordered during a time when all parties resided in New Mexico. Afterward, you both (the party you want to have the order enforced against) lived in New Mexico but now your ex lives in Florida.
“That is how you can collect child support, simply by faxing or sending the child support order to the other parent’s employer in Florida.” No other work is necessary; just name a price and see the cash pour in for child support.
Or you have the New Mexico order “registered” in Florida. You do so by filing a copy of the order with all sorts of other papers in the court in Florida.
Why would a person do this? This is because, when a parent registers the order, she receives different enforcement mechanisms: collection of arrears on child support, driver’s license revocation for non-payment, etc. Also, after you establish period support in that state, it is easier to modify child support.
Once you register it, Florida uses all but about 8 New Mexico laws re support, and arrears; interest and who has to pay and how much similarly how the payments will be calculated.how long does the order last.
How Can I Modify my Child Support?
To modify child support, the process is different state to state by whether a state’s courts have something called “continuing exclusive jurisdiction” (“CEJ”). A state has this authority (meaning the ability to make orders) if it is the leading order and:
The obligor (the parent who is paying child support) or the obligee (the parent who is receiving child support) or the child himself resides in this state at the time of filing for modification.
The parties’ submission to jurisdiction of the original state, even though they no longer reside there.
But the issuing state cannot use CEJ in a lot of circumstances such as 1) another state has properly modified the order under UIFSA.
If the state (in this example, New Mexico) has CEJ then any party is permitted to file a request for a court order to change child support in New Mexico. New Mexico’s law and approach to calculating this will be used, regardless of whether or not the other party is residing in another state.
But some courts have said that it is not proper for the party seeking a modification to initiate proceedings in his home state, citing the comments to the UIFSA. The logic is that UIFSA exists to prevent a litigant from shopping for modification of an already existing order in his own state at the expense of everyone else.
Assuming New Mexico does not have CEJ, the party trying to change child support would alleged in Florida court that they are an original court with jurisdiction amount: absentee and recipient of the cited approval for it here or (the specified) state?
The parties are all citizens of Florida.
If the answer is no, then you’re headed to a hearing, and you must prove:
None of the parties reside in New Mexico, the party desiring modification does not reside in Florida and the other party is subject to personal jurisdiction of Florida; or
One parent or the child is a resident of Florida and both parents actively consent to jurisdiction of the court.
Under either of the above options (1, or 2), child support will be determined under Florida guidelines, not New Mexico’s. Plus, Florida’s rules about what you can do to regain support and whether (and if so, when) incomes or needs factors become permanently fixed are being applied. But Florida can’t change any part of child support that cannot be changed in New Mexico’s (ex. the length of time child support is paid, etc.)
Yes, it’s complicated. You were warned. There are other vital sections of the UIFSA, such as which order prevails if more than one child support order has been entered by other states. But we’re not going to get into the UIFSA more in this article. So moving on to one last point related to multi-state child support, and possibly the most pertinent for many readers: can this affect a parent’s child support obligation?
How Will My Child Support Be Different if it’s Calculated in a Different State?
Yes. Sometimes a little, sometimes a lot. Every state is different in the way it calculates child support. The disparity between the states’ formulas becomes more pronounced as one or both parties makes a great deal of money and the number of children increases.
For example, one author compiled the spectrum of child support levels for 50 states. She used the same income and other inputs for the calculator in each state (one child, etc.), and she ran two tests: one for low-income families and another for high-income ones. Among low-income, child support totaled between $236 and $460 a month. At high income, it was $651 to $1,358 a month. Your child support in another state could easily be double or half as large. With super high income, values can vary by several thousands of dollars.
The principle at stake is this: we need to get multi-state child support issues correct. The financial consequences for you and your child can be devastating.
This is not the area of law for an amateur or someone without a strong stomach. If you are involved in a multi-state child support issue, consult with an attorney familiar with that area of law. If we can be of service to you with this, or any other family law matters, give us a call at The Law Office of Anthony Griego LLC 505-502-3110 or e-mail us below.
