40-5-273. Notice of review of child support orders — order for production of information. (1) Upon receipt of a review application setting forth facts meeting any of the criteria for review of a child support order established in 40-5-272, a notice of administrative review and an order for the production of financial information, if appropriate, must be served either personally or by certified mail on the obligor, the obligee, and any other party entitled to notice. If service is by certified mail, the department must receive a return receipt signed by the person to whom the notice was mailed for the service to be effective. Service of the notice is considered to be effective if, in the absence of a return receipt, the person to whom the notice was mailed requests a hearing or appears at the administrative review hearing. The notice must include a statement:

Terms Used In Montana Code 40-5-273

  • Child: means :

    (i)a person under 18 years of age who is not otherwise emancipated, self-supporting, married, or a member of the armed forces of the United States;

    (ii)a person under 19 years of age and still in high school;

    (iii)a person who is mentally or physically incapacitated if the incapacity began prior to the person's 18th birthday; or

    (iv)in a IV-D case, a person for whom:

    (A)support rights are assigned under 53-2-613;

    (B)a public assistance payment has been made;

    (C)the department is providing support enforcement services under 40-5-203; or

    (D)the department has received a referral for IV-D services from an agency of another state or an Indian tribe under the provisions of the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, the Revised Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act, the Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act, or Title IV-D of the Social Security Act. See Montana Code 40-5-201

  • Department: means the department of public health and human services. See Montana Code 40-5-201
  • Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
  • Guidelines: means the child support guidelines adopted pursuant to 40-5-209. See Montana Code 40-5-201
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
  • Obligee: means :

    (a)a person to whom a duty of support is owed and who is receiving support enforcement services under this part; or

    (b)a public agency of this or another state or an Indian tribe having the right to receive current or accrued support payments. See Montana Code 40-5-201

  • Obligor: means a person, including an alleged father, who owes a duty of support. See Montana Code 40-5-201
  • Person: includes a corporation or other entity as well as a natural person. See Montana Code 1-1-201
  • support obligation: means the amount created by:

    (a)the failure to provide for the medical, health, and support needs of a child under the laws of this or any other state or under a support order;

    (b)a support order for spousal maintenance of the custodial parent; or

    (c)fines, fees, penalties, interest, and other funds and costs that the department is authorized under this chapter to collect by the use of any procedure available for the payment, enforcement, and collection of child support or spousal maintenance or support. See Montana Code 40-5-201

  • Support order: means an order, whether temporary or final, that:

    (a)provides for the payment of a specific amount of money, expressed in periodic increments or as a lump-sum amount, for the support of the child, including an amount expressed in dollars for medical and health needs, child care, education, recreation, clothing, transportation, and other related expenses and costs specific to the needs of the child;

    (b)is issued by:

    (i)a district court of this state;

    (ii)a court of appropriate jurisdiction of another state, Indian tribe, or foreign country;

    (iii)an administrative agency pursuant to proceedings under this part; or

    (iv)an administrative agency of another state, Indian tribe, or foreign country with a hearing function and process similar to those of the department under this part; and

    (c)when the context requires, includes:

    (i)judgments and orders providing periodic payments for the maintenance or support of the custodial parent of a child receiving services under this chapter; and

    (ii)amounts for the recovery of fines, fees, penalties, interest, and other funds and costs that the department is authorized under this chapter to collect by the use of any procedure available for the payment, enforcement, and collection of child support or spousal maintenance or support. See Montana Code 40-5-201

  • Writing: includes printing. See Montana Code 1-1-203

(a)of the purpose, objectives, and possible consequences of the review, including that a modified support order may require the obligee to pay a monthly transfer payment to another party;

(b)of the right of the obligor and the obligee to request the department to issue subpoenas compelling the appearance of witnesses and the production of documents for a hearing;

(c)of the dollar amount of the support obligation to be paid each month for the child;

(d)of any change in the child’s medical support needs, including changes to the original order to bring it into compliance with part 8 of this chapter;

(e)of the effective date of the change in the child support or medical support obligation;

(f)of the right of any party to request a hearing to contest the amount of child support alleged in the notice or to contest the imposition or modification of a medical support order;

(g)that if a party does not timely file a request for a hearing, support, including medical support, will be ordered as declared in the notice or in accordance with the child support guidelines adopted under 40-5-209;

(h)that if a party requests a hearing, the other parties may refuse to participate in the proceedings and that the child support and medical support order will be determined using the information available to the department or provided at the hearing;

(i)that a party’s refusal to participate is a consent to entry of a child support and medical support order consistent with the department’s determination; and

(j)that the parties are entitled to a fair hearing under 40-5-277.

(2)An order for the production of financial information may be incorporated into the review notice and must include a statement that:

(a)the financial information must be returned no later than the 20th day after the date the order is served;

(b)if the requested information is not returned as required, the department may:

(i)proceed with the review using the information available to the department;

(ii)cease all proceedings for the review;

(iii)initiate contempt proceedings in accordance with 40-5-226; or

(iv)apply to the district court for an order to compel compliance with the order for production of financial information in accordance with 2-4-104; and

(c)any information required by the order must be provided to the department and other parties prior to the review hearing.

(3)If, in the absence of a certified mail return receipt showing the date of service, a person requests a hearing, any financial information ordered produced pursuant to subsection (2) must be provided to the department no later than the 20th day after the person requests the hearing, unless the person requesting the hearing waives that date in writing. A person who waives that date in writing shall provide the financial information by the date provided in subsection (2) or by another date established by order of the department.

(4)If additional discovery is requested by a party, the hearings officer may issue subpoenas ordering other parties to produce information in the party’s possession about the obligor and the obligee that may be reasonably necessary for application of the guidelines.

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