40-5-908. Registration procedures. (1) In a court case, before a decree, judgment, or order may be docketed, the parties to the action or their attorneys shall prepare, on a form prescribed by the department, the abstract of a support order required under 40-5-907(3) and deliver it to the clerk of court whenever:

Terms Used In Montana Code 40-5-908

  • Clerk of court: An officer appointed by the court to work with the chief judge in overseeing the court's administration, especially to assist in managing the flow of cases through the court and to maintain court records.
  • Department: means the department of public health and human services provided for in 2-15-2201. See Montana Code 40-5-901
  • Foreign support order: means a support order entered or last modified by a court or administrative agency of another state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, a territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, an Indian tribe, or a foreign jurisdiction. See Montana Code 40-5-901
  • Person: includes a corporation or other entity as well as a natural person. See Montana Code 1-1-201
  • Support order: means a judgment, decree, or order, whether temporary or final, that:

    (a)is for the benefit of a child or a state agency;

    (b)provides for monetary support, health care, arrearages, or reimbursement;

    (c)may include related costs and fees, interest, and similar other relief; and

    (d)may include an order for maintenance or other support to be paid to a child's custodial parent. See Montana Code 40-5-901

(a)a support order is entered or an existing order is modified after October 1, 1998;

(b)in an existing case not included under subsection (1)(a), the department has filed a notice of IV-D services and a support order is established, modified, adjusted, terminated, or otherwise affected or relief is granted from the support order; and

(c)in each case with a previously registered abstract, there is an action subsequent to registration that establishes, modifies, adjusts, terminates, grants relief from, or otherwise affects the support order in a registered case.

(2)The clerk of court shall deliver a completed abstract and copy of a non IV-D income-withholding order to the department within 5 working days of the receipt of an abstract or issuance of the non IV-D income-withholding order.

(3)(a) The department shall prepare and register abstracts of administrative support orders established by the department.

(b)For a foreign support order involving IV-D services from the department, the department shall attempt to acquire the information necessary for completion of the abstract from the person, court, or agency requesting IV-D services, and to the extent the information is provided, the department shall enter the information into the registry.

(4)As an alternative to the preparation and delivery of abstracts and non IV-D income-withholding orders to the department, the department may enter into cooperative agreements with district courts, clerks of court, or other appropriate agencies of this and other states to gather and transmit the information through electronic information networking systems.