CS
700P-4 Reassessment of Arrears Payment
Procedures
11/85
Revised 05/31/23 Training Completed 06/14/23 Last Reviewed 09/03/25
Statutory
Authority
U.C.A.
26B-9-219 states:
“(1) The office may:
(a) set or reset a level and
schedule of payments at any time consistent with the income, earning capacity,
and resources of the obligor; or
(b) demand payment in full.
(2) If a support debt is reduced
to a schedule of payments and made subject to income withholding, the total
monthly amount of the scheduled payment, current support payment, and cost of
health insurance attributable to a child for whom the obligor has been ordered
may only be subject to income withholding in an amount that does not exceed the
maximum amount permitted under Section 303(b) of the Consumer Credit Protection
Act, 15 U.S.C. Sec. 1673(b).
(3) (a) Within 15 days of
receiving notice, an obligor may contest a payment schedule as inconsistent
with Subsection (2) or the rules adopted by the office to establish payment
schedules under Subsection (1) by filing a written request for an adjudicative
proceeding.
(b) For purposes of Subsection
(3)(a), notice includes:
(i)
notice sent to the obligor by the office in accordance with Section 26B-9-207;
(ii) participation by the obligor
in the proceedings related to the establishment of the payment schedule; and
(iii) receiving a paycheck in
which a reduction has been made in accordance with a payment schedule
established under Subsection (1).”
Based
on this statutory authority, you may review cases periodically to determine if
reassessing the existing monthly arrears payment is appropriate. For example, the noncustodial parent (NCP)
has changed jobs or several months have passed since the arrears
payment was initially set.
U.C.A. 26B-9-207 states:
“(1) (a) Upon the entry of an
order in a proceeding to establish paternity or to establish, modify, or
enforce a support order, each party shall file identifying information and
shall update that information as changes occur:
(i) with
the court or administrative agency that conducted the proceeding; and
(ii) after October 1, 1998, with
the state case registry.
(b) The identifying information
required under Subsection (1)(a) shall include the person's Social Security number,
driver's license number, residential and mailing addresses, telephone numbers,
the name, address, and telephone number of employers, and any other data
required by the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human
Services.
(c) In any subsequent child
support action involving the office or between the parties, state due process
requirements for notice and service of process shall be satisfied as to a party
upon:
(i) a
sufficient showing that diligent effort has been made to ascertain the location
of the party; and
(ii) delivery of notice to the
most recent residential or employer address filed with the court,
administrative agency, or state case registry under Subsection (1)(a).”
Procedures
Once you have determined it is appropriate to reassess the monthly
arrears payment on a case; complete the steps listed below.
1.
Send the “Notice of Reassessment Conference” by first-class mail
to the last known residential or employer address provided by the NCP to the
court or to the Office of Recovery Services/Child Support Services
(ORS/CSS). The NCP is required under
U.C.A. 26B-9-207 to keep CSS or the court informed of his/her current address
and his/her employer’s address. This law
applies to all cases with orders, regardless of when the order was
established. Since the NCP is required to keep CSS informed of his/her address,
notification sent to the last know address fulfills due process requirements
for reassessment. If the notice is
returned because of a bad address, attempt to locate a current address and
resend the notice. If a current address
cannot be found you may continue with step 2.
2.
The notice instructs the NCP to contact you to discuss the
reassessed payment or to make arrangements to pay the
debt in full. Even if the NCP fails to
contact you after you sent the notice, you may nullify the existing payment
agreement and set a new monthly payment.
3.
Obtain payment in full or set a monthly arrears payment based on
the information you have gathered or obtained in the reassessment conference.
Follow the steps listed in CS 700P-2 Monthly Arrears Payment Options and
Procedures for the repayment method you select.
4.
Write case narratives to document your actions.
U.C.A.
26B-9-219 again states:
“(3) (a) Within 15 days of receiving notice, an obligor may
contest a payment schedule as inconsistent with Subsection (2) or the rules
adopted by the office to establish payment schedules under Subsection (1) by
filing a written request for an adjudicative proceeding.”
If the NCP contests the new payment schedule, refer to CS 701P
Payment Methods on Past-due Support, Contesting Payment Schedule for
procedures.