- Consolidated Laws - Family Court
Part 1. General provisions.
S 580-101. Definitions. In this article:
(1) "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.
(2) "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.
(3) "Duty of support" means an obligation imposed or imposable by law
to provide support for a child, spouse, or former spouse, including an
unsatisfied obligation to provide support.
(4) "Home state" means the state in which a child lived with a parent
or a person acting as parent for at least six consecutive months
immediately preceding the time of filing of a petition or comparable
pleading for support and, if a child is less than six months old, the
state in which the child lived from birth with any of them. A period of
temporary absence of any of them is counted as part of the six-month or
other period.
(5) "Income" includes earnings or other periodic entitlements to money
from any source and any other property subject to withholding for
support as defined by section five thousand two hundred forty-one of the
civil practice law and rules.
(6) "Income withholding order" means an order or other legal process
directed to an obligor`s employer or other income payor, as defined by
section five thousand two hundred forty-one or five thousand two hundred
forty-two of the civil practice law and rules to withhold support from
the income of the obligor.
(7) "Initiating state" means a state from which a proceeding is
forwarded or in which a proceeding is filed for forwarding to a
responding state under this article or a law or procedure substantially
similar to this article, the Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support
Act, or the Revised Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act.
(8) "Initiating tribunal" means the authorized tribunal in an
initiating state.
(9) "Issuing state" means the state in which a tribunal issues a
support order or renders a judgment determining parentage.
(10) "Issuing tribunal" means the tribunal that issues a support order
or renders a judgment determining parentage.
(11) "Law" includes decisional and statutory law and rules and
regulations having the force of law.
(12) "Obligee" means:
(i) an individual to whom a duty of support is or is alleged to be
owed or in whose favor a support order has been issued or a judgment
determining parentage has been rendered;
(ii) a state or political subdivision to which the rights under a duty
of support or support order have been assigned or which has independent
claims based on financial assistance provided to an individual obligee;
or
(iii) an individual seeking a judgment determining parentage of the
individual`s child.
(13) "Obligor" means an individual, or the estate of a decedent:
(i) who owes or is alleged to owe a duty of support;
(ii) who is alleged but has not been adjudicated to be a parent of a
child; or
(iii) who is liable under a support order.
(14) "Register" means to file a support order or judgment determining
parentage in the tribunal.
(15) "Registering tribunal" means a tribunal in which a support order
is registered.
(16) "Responding state" means a state in which a proceeding is filed
or to which a proceeding is forwarded for filing from an initiating
state under this article, or a law or procedure substantially similar to
this article, the Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act, or the
Revised Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act.
(17) "Responding tribunal" means the authorized tribunal in a
responding state.
(18) "Spousal support order" means a support order for a spouse or
former spouse of the obligor.
(19) "State" means a state of the United States, the District of
Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands or any territory
or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.
The term includes: (i) an Indian tribe; and (ii) a foreign jurisdiction
that has enacted a law or established procedures for issuance and
enforcement of support orders which are substantially similar to the
procedures under this article, the Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of
Support Act, or the Revised Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support
Act.
(20) "Support enforcement agency" means a public official or agency
authorized to seek:
(i) enforcement of support orders or laws relating to the duty of
support;
(ii) establishment or modification of child support;
(iii) determination of parentage; or
(iv) to locate obligors or their assets.
(21) "Support order" means a judgment, decree, or order, whether
temporary, final, or subject to modification, for the benefit of a
child, a spouse, or a former spouse, which provides for monetary
support, health care, arrearages, or reimbursement, and may include
related costs and fees, interest, income withholding, attorney`s fees,
and other relief.
(22) "Tribunal" means a court, administrative agency, or
quasi-judicial entity authorized to establish, enforce, or modify
support orders or to determine parentage.
S 580-102. Tribunal of state. The family court is the tribunal of this
state.
S 580-103. Remedies cumulative. Remedies provided by this article are
cumulative and do not affect the availability of remedies under other
law.
