ESTABLISH ORDER

CS 350P Federal Regulations and State Laws

10/18/82 Revised 09/01/25 Training Completed 09/15/25 Last Reviewed 10/01/25

45 CFR 302.31, 302.33, 302.50, 302.56, 303.4, 303.8, 303.101; Utah Code 26B-9-201 through 231, 63G-4, 78B-3-201 through 209, 81-5, 81-6-104, 107 through 110, 201 through 214, 304, 305, 81-8

Federal Regulations

1.                   45 CFR 302.50 states:

“(a) An assignment of support rights, as defined in § 301.1 of this chapter, constitutes an obligation owed to the State by the individual responsible for providing such support. Such obligation shall be established by:

(1) Order of a court of competent jurisdiction or of an administrative process; or

(2) Except for obligations assigned under 42 CFR 433.146, other legal process as established by State laws, such as a legally enforceable and binding agreement.

(b) The amount of the obligation described in paragraph (a) of this section shall be:

(1) The amount specified in the order of a court of competent jurisdiction or administrative process which covers the assigned support rights.

(2) If there is no court or administrative order, an amount determined in a record by the IV-D agency as part of the legal process referred to in paragraph (a)(2) of this section in accordance with the requirements § 302.56.

(c) The obligation described in paragraph (a) of this section shall be deemed for collection purposes to be collectible under all applicable State and local processes.

(d) Any amounts which represent support payments collected from an individual responsible for providing support under the State plan shall reduce, dollar for dollar, the amount of his obligation under this section.

(e) No portion of any amounts collected which represent an assigned support obligation defined under § 301.1 of this chapter may be used to satisfy a medical support obligation unless the court or administrative order designates a specific dollar amount for medical purposes.”

2.                   45 CFR 302.31 states:

“(a) The IV-D agency will undertake:

(1) In the case of a child born out of wedlock with respect to whom an assignment as defined in § 301.1 of this chapter is effective, to establish the paternity of such child; and

(2) In the case of any individual with respect to whom an assignment as defined in § 301.1 of this chapter is effective, to secure support for a child or children from any person who is legally liable for such support, using State laws regarding intrastate and interstate establishment and enforcement of support obligations. Effective October 1, 1985, this includes securing support for a spouse or former spouse who is living with the child or children, but only if a support obligation has been established for that spouse and the child support obligation is being enforced under the title IV-D State plan.”

3.                   45 CFR 302.33(a) states:

“(1) The State plan must provide that the services established under the plan shall be made available to any individual who:

(i) Files an application for the services with the IV-D agency. In an interstate case, only the initiating State may require an application under this section; or

(ii) Is a non-IV-A Medicaid recipient; or

(iii) Has been receiving IV-D services and is no longer eligible for assistance under the title IV-A, IV-E foster care, and Medicaid program.”

4.                   45 CFR 302.56 states:

“(a) Within 1 year after completion of the State's next quadrennial review of its child support guidelines, that commences more than 1 year after publication of the final rule, in accordance with § 302.56(e), as a condition of approval of its State plan, the State must establish one set of child support guidelines by law or by judicial or administrative action for setting and modifying child support order amounts within the State that meet the requirements in this section.

(b) The State must have procedures for making the guidelines available to all persons in the State.

(1) Provide that the child support order is based on the noncustodial parent's earnings, income, and other evidence of ability to pay that:

(i) Takes into consideration all earnings and income of the noncustodial parent (and at the State's discretion, the custodial parent);

(ii) Takes into consideration the basic subsistence needs of the noncustodial parent (and at the State's discretion, the custodial parent and children) who has a limited ability to pay by incorporating a low-income adjustment, such as a self-support reserve or some other method determined by the State; and

(iii) If imputation of income is authorized, takes into consideration the specific circumstances of the noncustodial parent (and at the State's discretion, the custodial parent) to the extent known, including such factors as the noncustodial parent's assets, residence, employment and earnings history, job skills, educational attainment, literacy, age, health, criminal record and other employment barriers, and record of seeking work, as well as the local job market, the availability of employers willing to hire the noncustodial parent, prevailing earnings level in the local community, and other relevant background factors in the case.

(2) Address how the parents will provide for the child's health care needs through private or public health care coverage and/or through cash medical support;

(3) Provide that incarceration may not be treated as voluntary unemployment in establishing or modifying support orders; and

(4) Be based on specific descriptive and numeric criteria and result in a computation of the child support obligation.

(d) The State must include a copy of the child support guidelines in its State plan.

(e) The State must review, and revise, if appropriate, the child support guidelines established under paragraph (a) of this section at least once every four years to ensure that their application results in the determination of appropriate child support order amounts. The State shall publish on the internet and make accessible to the public all reports of the guidelines reviewing body, the membership of the reviewing body, the effective date of the guidelines, and the date of the next quadrennial review.

(f) The State must provide that there will be a rebuttable presumption, in any judicial or administrative proceeding for the establishment and modification of a child support order, that the amount of the order which would result from the application of the child support guidelines established under paragraph (a) of this section is the correct amount of child support to be ordered.

(g) A written finding or specific finding on the record of a judicial or administrative proceeding for the establishment or modification of a child support order that the application of the child support guidelines established under paragraph (a) of this section would be unjust or inappropriate in a particular case will be sufficient to rebut the presumption in that case, as determined under criteria established by the State. Such criteria must take into consideration the best interests of the child. Findings that rebut the child support guidelines shall state the amount of support that would have been required under the guidelines and include a justification of why the order varies from the guidelines.

(h) As part of the review of a State's child support guidelines required under paragraph (e) of this section, a State must:

(1) Consider economic data on the cost of raising children, labor market data (such as unemployment rates, employment rates, hours worked, and earnings) by occupation and skill-level for the State and local job markets, the impact of guidelines policies and amounts on custodial and noncustodial parents who have family incomes below 200 percent of the Federal poverty level, and factors that influence employment rates among noncustodial parents and compliance with child support orders;

(2) Analyze case data, gathered through sampling or other methods, on the application of and deviations from the child support guidelines, as well as the rates of default and imputed child support orders and orders determined using the low-income adjustment required under paragraph (c)(1)(ii). The analysis must also include a comparison of payments on child support orders by case characteristics, including whether the order was entered by default, based on imputed income, or determined using the low-income adjustment required under paragraph (c)(1)(ii). The analysis of the data must be used in the State's review of the child support guidelines to ensure that deviations from the guidelines are limited and guideline amounts are appropriate based on criteria established by the State under paragraph (g); and

(3) Provide a meaningful opportunity for public input, including input from low-income custodial and noncustodial parents and their representatives. The State must also obtain the views and advice of the State child support agency funded under title IV-D of the Act.”

5.                   45 CFR 303.4 states:

“For all cases referred to the IV-D agency or applying under § 302.33 of this chapter, the IV-D Agency must:

(a) When necessary, establish paternity pursuant to the standards of § 303.5;

(b) Use appropriate State statutes, procedures, and legal processes in establishing and modifying support obligations in accordance with § 302.56 of this chapter, which must include, at a minimum:

(1) Taking reasonable steps to develop a sufficient factual basis for the support obligation, through such means as investigations, case conferencing, interviews with both parties, appear and disclose procedures, parent questionnaires, testimony, and electronic data sources;

(2) Gathering information regarding the earnings and income of the noncustodial parent and, when earnings and income information is unavailable or insufficient in a case gathering available information about the specific circumstances of the noncustodial parent, including such factors as those listed under § 302.56(c)(1)(iii) of this chapter;

(3) Basing the support obligation or recommended support obligation amount on the earnings and income of the noncustodial parent whenever available, If the evidence of earnings and income is unavailable or insufficient to use as the measure of the noncustodial parent’s ability to pay, then the support obligation or recommended support obligation amount should be based on available information about the specific circumstances of the noncustodial parent, including such factors as those listed in § 302.56(c)(1)(iii) of this chapter.

(c) Periodically review and adjust child support orders, as appropriate, in accordance with § 303.8.

(d) Within 90 calendar days of locating the alleged father or noncustodial parent, regardless of whether paternity has been established, establish an order for support or complete service of process necessary to commence proceedings to establish a support order and, if necessary, paternity (or document unsuccessful attempts to serve process, in accordance with State’s guidelines defining diligent efforts under § 303.3(c)).

(e) If the court or administrative authority dismisses a petition for a support order without prejudice, the IV-D agency must, at the time of dismissal, examine the reasons for dismissal and determine when it would be appropriate to seek an order in the future, and seek a support order at that time.

(f) Seek a support order based on a voluntary acknowledgment in accordance with § 302.70(a)(5)(vii).”

6.                   45 CFR 303.8(b) states:

“(b) Required procedures. Pursuant to section 466(a)(10) of the Act, when providing services under this chapter:

(1) The State must have procedures under which, within 36 months after establishment of the order or the most recent review of the order (or such shorter cycle as the State may determine), if there is an assignment under part A, or upon the request of either parent, the State shall, with respect to a support order being enforced under title IV-D of the Act, taking into account the best interests of the child involved:

(i) Review and, if appropriate, adjust the order in accordance with the State’s guidelines established pursuant to section 467(a) of the Act if the amount of the child support award under the order differs from the amount that would be awarded in accordance with the guidelines;

(ii) Apply a cost-of-living adjustment to the order in accordance with a formula developed by the State; or

(iii) Use automated methods (including automated comparisons with wage or State income tax data) to identify orders eligible for review, conduct the review, identify orders eligible for adjustment, and apply the appropriate adjustment to the orders eligible for adjustment under any threshold that may be established by the State. . . .

(3) If the State elects to conduct the review under paragraph (b)(1)(ii) or (iii) of this section, the State must have procedures which permit either party to contest the adjustment, within 30 days after the date of the notice of the adjustment, by making a request for review and, if appropriate, adjustment of the order in accordance with the child support guidelines established pursuant to section 467(a) of the Act.”

7.                   45 CFR 303.101 states:

“(b) . . . (2) Under expedited processes:

(i) In IV-D cases needing support order establishment, regardless of whether paternity has been established, action to establish support orders must be completed from the date of service of process to the time of disposition within the following timeframes: (A) 75 percent in 6 months; and (B) 90 percent in 12 months.

(ii) In IV-D cases where a support order has been established, actions to enforce the support order must be taken within the timeframes specified in §§ 303.6(c)(2)  and 303.100;

(iii) For purposes of the timeframe at § 303.101(b)(2)(i), in cases where the IV-D agency uses long-arm jurisdiction and disposition occurs within 12 months of service of process on the alleged father or noncustodial parent, the case may be counted as a success within the 6 month tier of the timeframe, regardless of when disposition occurs in the 12 month period following service of process.

(iv) Disposition, as used in paragraphs (b)(2)(i) and (iii) of this section, means the date on which a support order is officially established and/or recorded or the action is dismissed.”

Section (d) goes on to state:

d) Functions. The functions performed by presiding officers under expedited processes must include at minimum:

(1) Taking testimony and establishing a record;

(2) Evaluating evidence and making recommendations or decisions to establish paternity and to establish and enforce orders;

(3) Accepting voluntary acknowledgement of paternity or support liability and stipulated agreements setting the amount of support to be paid;

(4) Entering default orders upon a showing that process has been served on the defendant in accordance with State law, that the defendant failed to respond to service in accordance with State procedures, and any addition showing required by State law; and

(5) Ordering genetic tests in contested paternity cases in accordance with § 303.5(d)(1).”

State Laws

1. Utah Code 81-6-104 states:

“(1)(a) Every child is presumed to be in need of the support of the child's parents.

(b) Every parent shall support their child.

(2) Except as limited in a court order under Section 81-6-208:

(a) the expenses incurred on behalf of a minor child for reasonable and necessary medical and dental expenses and other necessities are chargeable upon the property of both parents, regardless of the marital status of the parents; and

(b) a creditor may sue a parent for the expenses described in Subsection (2)(a) incurred on behalf of a minor child.

(3)(a) A parent whose minor child has become a ward of this or any other state is not relieved of the primary obligation to support that child until the minor child is 18 years old or is legally married, regardless of any agreements or legal defenses that exist between the parents or other care providers.

(b) Any state that provides support for a child shall have the right to reimbursement.

(4) An obligation ordered for child support and medical expenses:

(a) are for the use and benefit of the child; and

(b) shall follow the child in a case in which a parent, or another person, is awarded sole physical custody of the child as described in Subsection 81-6-205(8).

(5) The rights created in this chapter are in addition to and not in substitution to any other rights.”

2. Utah Code 26B-9-201 through 231 are the statutes that authorize the administrative process.

3. Utah Code 63-4 is Utah’s Administrative Procedures Act.

4. Utah Code 78B-3-201 through 78B-3-209 address jurisdiction over non-residents.

5. Utah Code 81-6-107 through 81-6-214 contain general provisions for child support and information about calculations and adjustments of child support.

6. Utah Code 81-6-304 and 81-6-305 are the Base Combined Child Support Obligation Table and Low Income Tables.

7. Utah Code 81-5 is Utah’s Uniform Parentage Act which addresses establishment of parentage.

8. Utah Code 81-8 is the Utah’s Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA).