Vermont Statutes Title 15 Sec. 1307
Terms Used In Vermont Statutes Title 15 Sec. 1307
- Child: means an individual, whether over or under the age of majority, who is or is alleged to be owed a duty of support by the individual's parent or who is or is alleged to be the beneficiary of a support order directed to the parent. See
- Child support order: means a support order for a child, including a child who has attained the age of majority under the law of the issuing state or foreign country. See
- Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
- Foreign country: means a country, including a political subdivision thereof, other than the U. See
- Income: includes earnings or other periodic entitlements to money from any source and any other property subject to withholding for support under the law of this State. See
- Income withholding order: means an order or other legal process directed to an obligor's employer or other debtor, as defined by 15 Vt. See
- 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.
- Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form. See
- Registering tribunal: means a tribunal in which a support order or judgment determining parentage of a child is registered. See
- State: means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U. See
- Support enforcement agency: means a public official, governmental entity, or private agency authorized to:
- Support order: means a judgment, decree, order, decision, or directive whether temporary, final, or subject to modification, issued in a state or foreign country for the benefit of a child, a spouse, or a former spouse, which provides for monetary support, health care, arrearages, retroactive support, or reimbursement for financial assistance provided to an individual obligee in place of child support. See
- Tribunal: means a court, administrative agency, or quasi-judicial entity authorized to establish, enforce, or modify support orders or to determine parentage of a child. See
§ 1307. Duties of support enforcement
(a) A support enforcement agency of this State, upon request, shall provide services to a petitioner in a proceeding under this title.
(b) A support enforcement agency of this State that is providing services to the petitioner shall:
(1) take all steps necessary to enable an appropriate tribunal of this State or another state or a foreign country to obtain jurisdiction over the respondent;
(2) request an appropriate tribunal to set a date, time, and place for a hearing;
(3) make a reasonable effort to obtain all relevant information, including information as to income and property of the parties;
(4) within two days, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, after receipt of notice in a record from an initiating, responding, or registering tribunal, send a copy of the notice to the petitioner;
(5) within two days, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, after receipt of a communication in a record from the respondent or the respondent’s attorney, send a copy of the communication to the petitioner; and
(6) notify the petitioner if jurisdiction over the respondent cannot be obtained.
(c) A support enforcement agency of this State that requests registration of a child support order in this State for enforcement or for modification shall make reasonable efforts:
(1) to ensure that the order to be registered is the controlling order; or
(2) if two or more child support orders exist and the identity of the controlling order has not been determined, to ensure that a request for such a determination is made in a tribunal having jurisdiction to do so.
(d) A support enforcement agency of this State that requests registration and enforcement of a support order, arrears, or judgment stated in a foreign currency shall convert the amounts stated in the foreign currency into the equivalent amounts in dollars under the applicable official or market exchange rate as publicly reported.
(e) A support enforcement agency of this State shall issue or request a tribunal of this State to issue a child support order and an income withholding order that redirect payment of current support, arrears, and interest if requested to do so by a support enforcement agency of another state pursuant to section 1319 of this title.
(f) This title does not create or negate a relationship of attorney and client or other fiduciary relationship between a support enforcement agency or the attorney for the agency and the individual being assisted by the agency. (Added 2015, No. 16, § 2, eff. June 1, 2015.)