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How does the law deal with enforcement of the child support order when my ex and I live in two different states?

6/17/2015

 
            23.  Welcome back!  So here’s a good one.  How does the law deal with enforcement of the child support order when my ex and I live in two different states?

            We now live in a very mobile society, and I don't have to tell you this causes incredible complications in the world of child support.  So, for purposes of our example here, let's say Mom and Dad lived in Texas when they had Sissy and Jr.  Mom has since moved to Kentucky and Dad has moved to Tennessee.

            Fortunately, Congress has enacted the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA) to prevent total chaos in child support matters as parents like the Mom and Dad in this series of lessons move from state to state.  All 50 states have adopted UIFSA, so we can effectively deal with these issues and determine which state has jurisdiction to establish, enforce, or to modify, a child support order according to a standard set of procedures.  Kentucky’s UIFSA laws are found in KRS 407.

            I cannot possibly do justice to all of the terms of UIFSA in a this Lesson, and as these jurisdictional questions get very complicated, I should now reiterate that I am not your lawyer, but am simply offering an overview of the law for your edification. 

            That being said, I can tell you that in the most basic and general terms, for purposes of establishment, enforcement or modification of a child support order, UIFSA provides for Kentucky, for example, to assert “long-arm” personal jurisdiction over Dad, a non-resident of KY, if one of 8 specific circumstances exist.

            KRS 407.5201 provides for jurisdiction if:

            (1) The individual is personally served with summons, or 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 pleading 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;

            (7) The individual asserted parentage in the putative father registry maintained in this state by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services; or

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

            So, if Kentucky has jurisdiction over Tennessee Dad through one of these criteria, the child support litigation can be initiated in Kentucky if there is no child support proceeding pending in any other state.  This is considered to be the “One State” proceeding.  Kentucky could then, according to KRS 407.5205(1), enforce or modify its own child support order as long as one or both parents, or the child, remains a resident of Kentucky, or until both parents file written consents for a court in another state to modify the order and assume its own continuing, exclusive jurisdiction over the matter.

            On the other hand, if Kentucky does not have long-arm jurisdiction over Dad, or there is already an ongoing proceeding in Tennessee or some other state about the child support for Jr., a separate set of rules and procedures are used to decide which state should take the case.    That is considered the “Two State” process, or we could even call it the Texas Two-Step.  Let’s talk about that in Lesson 24.

            Now you know how to determine whether Kentucky has jurisdiction over a non-resident for the purpose of conducting child support proceedings here.  As you ponder this further, I hope you at least see that because all of Dad's exes live in Texas, hey may have reason to hang his hat in Tennessee!


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    Judge John Schrader is a Husband, a Father, and a Lexington Attorney providing legal and mediation services in the office of Sherrow, Sutherland & Associates, P.S.C.

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    CHILD SUPPORT TABLE OF CONTENTS
    1. Who is required to pay child support in Kentucky?
    Publish Date: April 29, 2015
    2. What do I do to obtain a Kentucky Child Support Order?

    Publish Date: April 29, 2015
    3. How is child support calculated under the guidelines?
    Publish Date: April 30, 2015
    4. What is considered “gross income” for child support calculations?
    Publish Date: May 5, 2015
    5. How do I find out what the other parent's income is?
    Publish Date: May 6, 2015
    6. What about income from self-employment or business income?
    Publish Date: May 7, 2015
    7. What if a parent is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed?
    Publish Date: May 13, 2015
    8. What if one parent is paying maintenance?
    Publish Date: May 13, 2015
    9. Is there an adjustment to a parent's "gross income" if he or she is supporting a prior-born
    child?

    Publish Date: May 13, 2015
    10. What happens in a split custody arrangement where Sissy lives with Mother and Jr. lives with Father?
    Publish Date: May 20, 2015
    11. When can a judge deviate from the child support “guidelines”?
    Publish Date: May 20, 2015
    12. When the parents' combined monthly adjusted gross income exceeds $15,000 per month, how is child support calculated?
    Publish Date: May 20, 2015
    13. How does Kentucky law deal with the big-ticket item of childcare expense?
    Publish Date: May 27, 2015
    14. Do parents have to maintain private health insurance for their child, and if so, who pays
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    Publish Date: May 27, 2015
    15. Who pays for deductibles and co-pays and how do we deal with extraordinary medical expenses not covered by the insurance?
    Publish Date: May 27, 2015
    16. How does a parent actually recover the proportionate share of extraordinary medical expenses from the other parent?
    Publish Date: June 3, 2015
    17. What if I find out the other parent has not been paying for childcare even though I have been paying for my share?
    Publish Date: June 3, 2015
    18. How do I get a modification of child support in Kentucky?
    Publish Date: June 3, 2015
    19. When does child support terminate?
    Publish Date: June 10, 2015
    20. Is a Wage Assignment Order required for child support in Kentucky?

    Publish Date: June 10, 2015
    21. What does the court do about child support when the child spends a considerable amount of time with both parents?
    Publish Date: June 10, 2015
    22. What is involved in collection of child support?
    Publish Date: June 17, 2015
    23. How does the law deal with enforcement of the child support order when my ex and I
    live in two different states?

    Publish Date: June 17, 2015
    24. If Kentucky does not have jurisdiction over the other parent of my child, what is the UIFSA process to deal with establishment, enforcement and modification of child support
    orders?

    Publish Date: June 17, 2015
    25. What about parents who were not husband and wife to each other when their child was
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    Publish Date: June 24, 2015
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