Session of 2000
SENATE BILL No. 453
By Committee on Ways and Means
1-19
10 AN ACT
concerning the uniform interstate family support act; amending
11 K.S.A. 23-9,602 and
23-9,612 and K.S.A. 1999 Supp. 23-9,313, 23-
12 9,502, 23-9,503,
23-9,605 and 23-9,606 and repealing the existing
13 sections.
14
15 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the
State of Kansas:
16 Section
1. K.S.A. 1999 Supp. 23-9,313 is hereby amended to read as
17 follows: 23-9,313. (a) The petitioner may
not be required to pay a filing
18 fee or other costs.
19 (b) If an obligee
prevails, a responding tribunal may assess against an
20 obligor filing fees, reasonable attorney
fees, other costs and necessary
21 travel and other reasonable expenses
incurred by the obligee and the
22 obligee's witnesses. The tribunal may not
assess fees, costs or expenses
23 against the obligee or the support
enforcement agency of either the ini-
24 tiating or the responding state, except as
provided by other law. Attorney
25 fees may be taxed as costs, and may be
ordered paid directly to the at-
26 torney, who may enforce the order in the
attorney's own name. Payment
27 of support owed to the obligee has priority
over fees, costs and expenses.
28 (c) The tribunal
may shall order the payment of costs and
reasonable
29 attorney fees if it determines that a
hearing was requested primarily for
30 delay. In a proceeding under K.S.A.
23-9,601 through 23-9,613, and
31 amendments thereto, a hearing is
presumed to have been requested pri-
32 marily for delay if a registered support
order is confirmed or enforced
33 without change.
34 Sec.
2. K.S.A. 1999 Supp. 23-9,502 is hereby amended to read as
35 follows: 23-9,502. (a) Upon receipt of an
income withholding order, the
36 obligor's employer shall immediately
provide a copy of the order to the
37 obligor.
38 (b) The employer
shall treat an income withholding order issued in
39 another state which appears regular on its
face as if it had been issued by
40 a tribunal of this state.
41 (c) Except as
otherwise provided in subsection (d) and K.S.A. 1999
42 Supp. 23-9,503 and amendments thereto the
employer shall withhold and
43 distribute the funds as directed in the
withholding order by complying
2
1 with terms of the order which
specify:
2 (1) The
duration and amount of periodic payments of current child
3 support, stated as a sum certain;
4 (2) the
person or agency designated to receive payments and the ad-
5 dress to which the payments are to be
forwarded;
6 (3) medical
support, whether in the form of periodic cash payment,
7 stated as a sum certain, or ordering
the obligor to provide health insurance
8 coverage for the child under a policy
available through the obligor's
9 employment;
10 (4) the amount of
periodic payments of fees and costs for a support
11 enforcement agency, the issuing tribunal,
and the obligee's attorney,
12 stated as sums certain; and
13 (5) the amount of
periodic payments of arrearages and interest on
14 arrearages, stated as sums certain.
15 (d) An employer
shall comply with the law of the state of the obligor's
16 principal place of employment with
that employer for withholding from
17 income with respect to:
18 (1) The
employer's fee for processing an income withholding order;
19 (2) the maximum
amount permitted to be withheld from the obligor's
20 income; and
21 (3) the times
within which the employer must implement the with-
22 holding order and forward the child support
payment.
23 Sec.
3. K.S.A. 1999 Supp. 23-9,503 is hereby amended to read as
24 follows: 23-9,503. If an obligor's employer
receives multiple income with-
25 holding orders with respect to the earnings
of the same obligor, the em-
26 ployer satisfies the terms of the multiple
orders if the employer complies
27 with the law of the state of the obligor's
principal place of employment
28 with that employer to
establish the priorities for withholding and allocat-
29 ing income withheld for multiple child
support obligees.
30 Sec.
4. K.S.A. 23-9,602 is hereby amended to read as follows:
23-
31 9,602. (a) A support order or income
withholding order of another state
32 may be registered in this state by sending
the following documents and
33 information to the
responding appropriate tribunal in this
state:
34 (1) A letter of
transmittal to the tribunal requesting registration and
35 enforcement;
36 (2) two copies,
including one certified copy, of all orders to be reg-
37 istered, including any modification of an
order;
38 (3) a sworn
statement by the party seeking registration or a certified
39 statement by the custodian of the records
showing the amount of any
40 arrearage;
41 (4) the name of
the obligor and, if known:
42 (A) The obligor's
address and social security number;
43 (B) the name and
address of the obligor's employer and any other
3
1 source of income of the obligor;
and
2 (C) a
description and the location of property of the obligor in this
3 state not exempt from execution;
and
4 (5) the
name and address of the obligee and, if applicable, the agency
5 or person to whom support payments
are to be remitted.
6 (b) On
receipt of a request for registration, the registering tribunal
7 shall cause the order to be filed as
a foreign judgment, together with one
8 copy of the documents and
information, regardless of their form.
9 (c) A
petition or comparable pleading seeking a remedy that must be
10 affirmatively sought under other law of
this state may be filed at the same
11 time as the request for registration or
later. The pleading must specify
12 the grounds for the remedy sought.
13 Sec.
5. K.S.A. 1999 Supp. 23-9,605 is hereby amended to read as
14 follows: 23-9,605. (a) When a support order
or income withholding order
15 issued in another state is registered, the
registering tribunal shall notify
16 the nonregistering party. Notice
shall be only by personal service or reg-
17 istered mail, return receipt
requested. The notice must be accompanied
18 by a copy of the registered order and the
documents and relevant infor-
19 mation accompanying the order.
20 (b) The notice
must inform the nonregistering party:
21 (1) That a
registered order is enforceable as of the date of registration
22 in the same manner as an order issued by a
tribunal of this state;
23 (2) that a
hearing to contest the validity or enforcement of the reg-
24 istered order must be requested within 20
days after the date of mailing
25 or personal service of the
notice;
26 (3) that failure
to contest the validity or enforcement of the registered
27 order in a timely manner will result in
confirmation of the order and
28 enforcement of the order and the alleged
arrearages and precludes fur-
29 ther contest of that order with respect to
any matter that could have been
30 asserted; and
31 (4) of the amount
of any alleged arrearages.
32 (c) Upon
registration of an income withholding order for enforce-
33 ment, the registering tribunal shall notify
the obligor's employer pursuant
34 to the income withholding act, K.S.A.
23-4,105 et seq. and amendments
35 thereto.
36 Sec.
6. K.S.A. 1999 Supp. 23-9,606 is hereby amended to read as
37 follows: 23-9,606. (a) A nonregistering
party seeking to contest the validity
38 or enforcement of a registered order in
this state shall request a hearing
39 within 20 days after the date of
mailing or personal service of notice of
40 the registration. The nonregistering party
may seek to vacate the regis-
41 tration, to assert any defense to an
allegation of noncompliance with the
42 registered order, or to contest the
remedies being sought or the amount
43 of any alleged arrearages pursuant to
K.S.A. 23-9,607 and amendments
4
1 thereto (contest of registration or
enforcement).
2 (b) If the
nonregistering party fails to contest the validity or enforce-
3 ment of the registered order in a
timely manner, the order is confirmed
4 by operation of law.
5 (c) If a
nonregistering party requests a hearing to contest the validity
6 or enforcement of the registered
order, the registering tribunal shall
7 schedule the matter for hearing and
give notice to the parties of the date,
8 time and place of the hearing.
9 Sec.
7. K.S.A. 23-9,612 is hereby amended to read as follows:
23-
10 9,612. A tribunal of this state shall
recognize a modification of its earlier
11 child support order by a tribunal of
another state which assumed juris-
12 diction pursuant to this act or a
law substantially similar to this act and,
13 upon request, except as otherwise provided
in this act, shall:
14 (a) Enforce the
order that was modified only as to amounts accruing
15 before the modification;
16 (b) enforce only
nonmodifiable aspects of that order;
17 (c) provide other
appropriate relief only for violations of that order
18 which occurred before the effective date of
the modification; and
19 (d) recognize the
modifying order of the other state, upon registra-
20 tion, for the purpose of
enforcement.
21 Sec. 8. K.S.A. 23-9,602 and
23-9,612 and K.S.A. 1999 Supp. 23-
22 9,313, 23-9,502, 23-9,503, 23-9,605 and
23-9,606 are hereby repealed.
23 Sec. 9. This act shall
take effect and be in force from and after its
24 publication in the statute book.