CS 104P-2 Opening a Support Follows the Child Case,
Non-IV-A Application
New 05/17/04 Revised 04/26/23
Training Completed 05/10/23 Last Reviewed 02/04/25
U.C.A.
78B-12-102, 78B-12-108, 78B-12-205, 78B-12-212
Opening a
Non-IV-A Services Case When Support Follows the Child
If a child support order
establishes an obligation for one parent and either physical custody of all the
children in the order has changed to the other parent, or physical custody of a
child(ren) has changed to a specified relative who has applied for Non-IV-A
services, take the steps listed below to open a case for the Non-IV-A applicant
and to determine if you can enforce the other parent’s obligation without
initiating legal action to modify the order.
1.
Open the new case on ORSIS with the individual
who claims to have physical custody as the obligee,
and the parent(s) who may no longer have physical custody as the obligor. On a specified relative case, open separate
cases against each parent, even if the parents are living together.
2. Review the criteria for support follows the child to decide if there is an enforceable support order:
b.
The individual whom you will be
enforcing against must be listed as a party (specifically named) in the action
to establish the order.
EXAMPLE 1: A Utah divorce
decree issued in 1999 lists “Jane Doe vs. John Doe” in the header. Sole legal custody was granted to the
mother. The support follows the child
statute may be applied to physical custody changes from May 1, 2000 forward, if
the other criteria are met.
EXAMPLE 2: A Utah divorce
decree issued in 1999 lists “Jane Doe vs. John Doe” in the header. Legal custody is not addressed. The support follows the child statute may be
applied to physical custody changes from May 1, 2000 forward, if the other
criteria are met.
EXAMPLE 3: A Utah Child
Support Services (CSS) administrative order issued in June 2000 states: “Office
of Recovery Services/Child Support Services, Claimant, vs. Jane Doe,
Respondent, John Doe, Respondent” in the header. The support follows the child statute may be
applied to physical custody changes if the other criteria are met.
EXAMPLE 4: A Utah CSS administrative
order issued at any time states “Office of Recovery Services/Child Support
Services, Claimant, vs. John Doe, Respondent” in the header. The support follows the child statute may not be applied to collect support from
the other parent if physical custody changes because the other parent is not
specifically named as a party to the action.
NOTE: CSS administrative
orders have different headers, depending on when they were issued. Be sure to review the order for the precise
header in Example 3 above.
c.
The underlying guideline
worksheet to the Utah support order must list amounts that are greater than
zero. The parent
or specified relative requesting the enforcement must provide the worksheet, or
obtain it from the court. If the ordered
amount is zero, pre-guideline or deviated from the worksheet, take the
following steps.
i.
Do not
pursue a modification further on a Non-IV-A case due to a change in physical
custody unless both parents are willing to stipulate to a modification of the
order in accordance with current child support guideline amounts (see CS 450P
General Information, Forms, Criteria, and Federal Timeframes for additional
information).
ii.
If the
parents are not willing to stipulate, inform the applicant that any
modification of the order will need to be initiated privately by the
parties. If the applicant does not
provide proof of a new order or that a judicial action has been commenced
within 30 days, pend the case for closure.
You may reinstate the case at a later date should the applicant provide
an enforceable order.
d.
The physical custody arrangement
of the child(ren) must be verified. The parties must be in agreement
that physical custody of the child (or all the children if more than one child)
has changed, and that the change was voluntary on the part of the parent with
legal custody.
i.
Legal custody has been
determined:
A.
If the
parent with legal custody of the child(ren) has completed the “Confirmation of
Voluntary Custody Change Letter and Form” e.g., for an existing CSS case, it is
not necessary to contact the individual again.
B.
If the
parent with legal custody of the child is located, contact that individual and
determine if s/he agrees that physical custody of the child(ren) has changed and changed voluntarily, and is not
simply the noncustodial parent (NCP) exercising extended parent-time (see CS
413P Extended Parent-time).
NOTE: Verbal communication regarding the physical custody of a child, whether over the phone or in person, IS NOT sufficient verification for purposes of applying support follows the child. The Confirmation of Voluntary Custody Change Form must be returned to ORS within 10 days in order to verify the custodial arrangement. If the parent with court ordered custody fails to return the form as required, proceed with closing the case.
C.
If the
parent with legal custody has not been located, proceed to open the case and
refer it to the appropriate team. Once
the parent has been located, that team will need to contact the parent.
D.
Custody will
be considered to be in dispute if the parent with legal custody:
I.
Disagrees
that physical custody has changed; or,
II.
Agrees that
physical custody has changed, but not with his/her consent.
(a)
Inform the
individual alleging physical custody that you cannot enforce the obligation of
the parent(s) who may not have physical custody until the custody issue is
resolved in court.
(b)
Pend the
case for closure.
(c)
Send the
applicant the closure letter and inform the applicant that s/he may reapply for
services when the custody dispute and any related issues are resolved in court.
ii.
Legal custody has NOT been
determined:
A.
If the parent
who no longer has physical custody of the child(ren) has completed the
“Confirmation of Physical Custody Change Letter and Form,” e.g., for an
existing CSS case, it is not necessary to contact the individual again.
B.
If the
parent who no longer has physical custody of the child is located, contact that
individual and determine if s/he agrees that physical custody of the child(ren)
has changed. For more information, refer to CS 819P Support Follows the Child –
Post Order, Legal Custody Has Not Been Determined.
NOTE: Verbal communication regarding the physical custody of a child, whether over the phone or in person, IS NOT sufficient verification for purposes of applying support follows the child. The “Confirmation of Physical Custody Change Letter and Form” must be returned to ORS within 10 days in order to verify the custodial arrangement. If the parent with court ordered custody fails to return the form as required, proceed with closing the case CNC.
C.
If the
parent who allegedly no longer has physical custody has not been located,
proceed to open the case and refer it to the appropriate team. Once the parent has been located, that team
will need to contact the parent.
D.
Custody will
be considered to be in dispute if the parent who no longer has physical custody
disagrees that physical custody has changed.
I.
Inform the
individual alleging physical custody that you cannot enforce the obligation of
the parent(s) who does not have physical custody until the custody issue is
resolved in court.
II.
Pend the
case for closure.
III.
Send the
applicant the closure letter and inform the applicant that s/he may reapply for
services when a court determines custody and a new support order and worksheet
are obtained.
NOTE: In addition to the above criteria, the order can only be
enforced by contempt if both parties were in fact served, were present in
court, or were represented by legal counsel.
Refer to CS 838P Civil Contempt for Non-Payment of Child Support.
e.
The support follows the child
statute is not applicable in the following situations:
i.
Sole custody
was ordered and all of the children are
not residing with one of the parents.
The law only applies when all of the children are residing with
one or the other parent. (Specified relative cases are an exception. For additional information,
refer to CS 356P-3 Specified Relative Cases, Enforcing Existing Orders and
Support Follows the Child.) If physical
custody of the children in the order is split between the parents, take the
following steps.
A.
If the order
provides for extended parent-time or the parents sign a written extended
parent-time agreement, a partial reduction in the support obligation for the
child(ren) living with the NCP may be granted under Utah Code Annotated (U.C.A.)78B-12-216
(see CS 413P Extended Parent-time).
ii.
Joint or
split custody was ordered by the court in the most recent order.
A.
Joint physical custody is when the order specifies that
each parent has physical custody of the child(ren) for a certain percentage of
time during the year and a joint custody worksheet was used. Support follows the child cannot be applied
when a joint custody worksheet used.
B.
Joint legal custody is the sharing of authority,
responsibility and combined decision making by both parents in regard to the
child(ren)’s welfare. It does not affect
the child support or where the child(ren) will live. If an order mentions “joint custody” but a
sole custody worksheet was used, it is considered to be a joint legal custody
situation and not a joint physical custody case. Support follows the child can be applied to
joint legal custody when a sole custody worksheet containing support amounts
for both parents was used.
3.
Determine
the obligation amount. Use the amount
listed on line 7 of the sole custody worksheet.
If the child is with a specified relative and the order is for more than
one child, prorate the support. Refer to
CS 356P-3 Specified Relative Cases, Enforcing Existing Orders and Support
Follows the Child for additional information about prorating child support.
4.
Add the
obligation on ORSIS.
5.
Send the “Notice
of Child Support Obligation Due to Physical Custody Change” letter to the
parent who does not have physical custody (the obligor on the new case). This letter includes the following
information:
a.
The
statutory authority for support follows the child;
b.
That CSS is
providing child support services for the other parent or a specified relative;
c.
The amount
and beginning date of the obligated parent’s child support obligation;
d.
The CSS
payment address;
e.
The process
to contest the child support obligation; and,
f.
A copy of
the child support worksheet.
6.
Send the
Enforcement Nudge Letter to the NCP.
7.
If there is
an existing case on ORSIS charging current support for the same child(ren)
based on a former custody arrangement, notify the post-order worker of the physical
custody change.
8.
Document in the case narratives
the steps you take.
9.
Complete
Intake duties and transfer the case to the post-order team.
10.
Post-order –
Begin normal enforcement/collection actions.
11.
The
obligor/NCP may contest the child support on the new case. Any administrative review or adjudicative
proceeding will be facilitated by the agents, senior agents, and Presiding
Officers for the team where the case is assigned at the time of the review
request.