Changing Out of State Support Orders in Indiana - Talking About UIFSA

Another lawyer had a a pending case dealing with an out of state child support payor when I first read New York Divorce and Family Law Blog's Out-Of -State Support Orders Cannot Be Modified in New York :

In this day and age in which parties obtain an order regarding child support in one state and then move to another jurisdiction, it is important to know that the original support order cannot be modified or even extended by a court in the second state, so said the New York Court of Appeals in the case Spencer v. Spencer.

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The Court of Appeals declined to modify the Connecticut order or to extend Mr. Spencer’s obligation to pay support.

Under the Full Faith and Credit for Child Support Orders Act (FFCCSOS) and the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA), “the state issuing a child support order retains continuing, exclusive jurisdiction over its child support orders so long as an individual contestant continues to reside in the issuing state [28 USC §1738B(d) and Family Court Act §580-205]

Because the respondent continued to reside in Connecticut, the state which issued the original child support order, Connecticut retained continuing and exclusive jurisdiction, even though support for the eldest son terminated upon his reaching 18 years of age. Thus, any change to the respondent’s obligations imposed by New York would constitute an impermissible exercise of jurisdiction modifying the Connecticut order, a clear violation of FFCCSOS and UIFSA.

Indiana had incorporated the UIFSA into the Indiana Code here. I see no reason that the same reasoning that applied in New York will work in Indiana. That is the charm of uniform laws.

As for the local case, it appears that the out-of-state payor had voluntarily paid through Indiana on an Indiana order and the trial judge has upheld the enforcement of child support through Indiana. An appeal is expected.