Sec. 1. (a) In a proceeding to establish or enforce a support order or to determine parentage of a child, an Indiana tribunal may exercise personal jurisdiction over a nonresident individual or the individual’s guardian or custodian if:

(1) the individual is personally served with a summons, notice, or subpoena within this state;

Terms Used In Indiana Code 31-18.5-2-1

  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
  • Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
  • United States: includes the District of Columbia and the commonwealths, possessions, states in free association with the United States, and the territories. See Indiana Code 1-1-4-5
(2) the individual submits to the jurisdiction of Indiana by consent in a record, by entering a general appearance, or by filing a responsive document having the effect of waiving any contest to personal jurisdiction;

(3) the individual resided with the child in Indiana;

(4) the individual resided in Indiana and provided prenatal expenses or support for the child;

(5) the child resides in Indiana as a result of the acts or directives of the individual;

(6) the individual engaged in sexual intercourse in Indiana and the child may have been conceived by that act of intercourse;

(7) the individual asserted parentage of a child in the putative father registry administered in Indiana by the Indiana department of health; or

(8) there is any other basis consistent with the constitutions of Indiana and the United States for the exercise of personal jurisdiction.

     (b) The bases of personal jurisdiction set forth in subsection (a) or in any other Indiana law may not be used to acquire personal jurisdiction for an Indiana tribunal to modify a child support order of another state unless the requirements of IC 31-18.5-6-11 are met, or, in the case of a foreign support order, unless the requirements of IC 31-18.5-6-15 are met.

As added by P.L.206-2015, SEC.53. Amended by P.L.56-2023, SEC.263.

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