PAYMENT PROCESSING

CS 505P Assignment of Support Rights

06/94 Revised 03/07/23 Training Completed 03/21/23 Last Reviewed 07/10/25

42 U.S.C 608 and 657(b); U.C.A 35A-3-108  

 

 

Statutory Authority

 

U.C.A. 35A-3-108.  Assignment of support.

(1) (a) An applicant shall provide an assignment of support to the department regardless of whether the payment is court ordered. 

(b) Upon the receipt of public assistance, any right of the recipient to receive support from another person passes to the state, including a right to support on behalf of any family member for whom the recipient is applying for or receiving assistance, even if the recipient has not executed and delivered an assignment of support to the department as required by Subsection (1)(a). 

(2) An assignment of support, or a right to receive support passed to the state, includes payments ordered, decreed, or adjudged by any court within this state, any other state, or territory of the United States and is not in lieu of, and does not supersede or alter, any other court order, decree, or judgment. 

(3) When an assignment of support is executed or the right to support passes to the state under this section, the recipient is eligible to regular monthly assistance and the support paid to the state is a refund. 

(4) All money refunded under this section shall be deposited into the General Fund,

Except any amount which is required to be credited to the federal government. 

(5) On and after the date a recipient stops receiving cash assistance, an assignment of support under this section does not apply to support that accrued before the recipient received the cash assistance if:  (a) the state has not collected the support by the date the recipient stops receiving cash assistance;  and (b) the assignment was executed on or after October 1, 1998. 

(6) The state shall distribute arrearages to a recipient in accordance with the requirements of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 657. 

(7) When an assignment of support includes child support, the total amount of child support assigned to the state and collected under this section may not exceed the total amount of cash assistance received by the recipient.

Prior to October 1, 2009 when a custodial parent (CP) applied for IV-A cash assistance, s/he assigned all child support and spousal support arrears that were past-due at that time to the State of Utah.  This included any judicial judgments previously entered in favor of the CP.  The CP assigned the support by signing an Assignment of Support Rights at the time of application for cash assistance in Utah.  The support was also assigned by operation of law whenever the CP received cash assistance.  This meant that the CP did not need to sign an Assignment of Support Rights form in order to be assigned to the state.

 

Current child support, spousal support and medical support that accrues during the time-period the family was/is receiving cash assistance has/is always assigned to the state.  Medical support arrears (e.g., medical support judgment) owed to the CP at the time s/he applied for cash assistance is not assigned to the state. 

 

Beginning October 1, 2009, when a CP applies for IV-A cash assistance, s/he will no longer be required to assign child support and spousal support arrears that are past-due at that time to the State of Utah.  For more information on assigned support types, refer to Definitions, below.

 

NOTE:  CSS only collects child-care support on an exception basis.  If Non-IV-A day-care debts are added to ORSIS, the Automatic Debt Rollover program will roll the child-care current support debt to the IV-A day-care debt group when the family goes on assistance.  Child-care arrears debts are not assigned to the State of Utah

 

 

Definitions

 

1.                   Permanently assigned support is:

a.                   Support that is due or accrues while the family is receiving IV-A cash assistance; or,

b.                   Past-due support that was assigned because the family went on IV-A cash assistance prior to October 1, 1997.

 

2.                   Temporarily assigned support – Past-due support that was assigned because the family went on IV-A cash assistance between October 1, 1997 and September 30, 2009.

 

3.                   Never-assistance case – a IV-D case for which the custodial parent or child has never received IV-A cash assistance.

 

NOTE:  The date the CP’s IV-A cash assistance grant is effective determines the date of assignment.  The time period for which the support accrued is not considered.

 

EXAMPLE 1:  If a CP went on cash assistance in September, 1997, past-due support owed at that time was permanently assigned. If the CP went on assistance between October, 1997 and September 30, 2009, the past-due support was temporarily assigned.

 

EXAMPLE 2: 

ˇ                     September 1, 2009 – CP applies for assistance.

o        Current support is $100.00 per month (permanently assigned for any month in which the CP receives cash assistance); and,

o        The past-due support amount of $500.00 is temporarily assigned because the CP went on assistance between October 1997 and September 30, 2009.

 

 

Assignment – October 1, 2009

 

Beginning October 1, 2009, the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) no longer requires the CP to assign past-due child support to the State of Utah.  For example:

 

EXAMPLE: 

ˇ                     October 1, 2009 – CP applies for assistance.

o        Current support is $100.00 per month and it is permanently assigned for any month in which the CP receives cash assistance; and,

o        The past-due support amount of $500.00 is NOT assigned because the CP went on assistance on or after October 1, 2009.

 

 

Unreimbursed Assistance

 

Collections received for assigned support are retained by the State, up to the total life-to-date unreimbursed assistance issued. 

 

When the family goes off cash assistance, the balance of the arrears that were temporarily assigned become conditionally assigned or unassigned depending on the life-to-date un-reimbursed assistance issued to the CP.  The balance of the arrears that are permanently assigned remain assigned or may be unassigned based on the life-to-date unreimbursed assistance issued to the CP.