A. The support payment clearinghouse established pursuant to section 46-441 shall receive and disburse all monies, including fees and costs, applicable to support and maintenance unless the court has ordered that support or maintenance be paid directly to the party entitled to receive the support or maintenance. Within two business days the clerk of the superior court shall transmit to the support payment clearinghouse any maintenance and support payments received by the clerk. Monies received by the support payment clearinghouse in cases not enforced by the state pursuant to title IV-D of the social security act shall be distributed in the following priority:

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Terms Used In Arizona Laws 25-510

  • Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
  • Arrearage: means the total unpaid support owed, including child support, past support, spousal maintenance and interest. See Arizona Laws 25-500
  • Department: means the department of economic security. See Arizona Laws 25-500
  • Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • including: means not limited to and is not a term of exclusion. See Arizona Laws 1-215
  • Month: means a calendar month unless otherwise expressed. See Arizona Laws 1-215
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
  • Person: includes a corporation, company, partnership, firm, association or society, as well as a natural person. See Arizona Laws 1-215
  • Support: means the provision of maintenance or subsistence and includes medical insurance coverage, or cash medical support, and uncovered medical costs for the child, arrearages, interest on arrearages, past support, interest on past support and reimbursement for expended public assistance. See Arizona Laws 25-500
  • Support payment clearinghouse: means the clearinghouse established pursuant to section 46-441. See Arizona Laws 25-500

1. Current child support or current court ordered payments for the support of a family when combined with the child support obligation.

2. Current spousal maintenance.

3. The current monthly fee prescribed in subsection D of this section for handling support or spousal maintenance payments.

4. Past due support reduced to judgment and then to associated interest.

5. Past due spousal maintenance reduced to judgment and then to associated interest.

6. Past due support not reduced to judgment and then to associated interest.

7. Past due spousal maintenance not reduced to judgment and then to associated interest.

8. Past due amounts of the fee prescribed in subsection D of this section for handling support or spousal maintenance payments.

B. In any proceeding under this chapter regarding a duty of support, the records of payments maintained by the clerk or the support payment clearinghouse are prima facie evidence of all payments made and disbursed to the person or agency to whom the support payment is to be made and are rebuttable only by a specific evidentiary showing to the contrary.

C. At no cost to the clerk of the superior court, the department shall provide electronic access to all records of payments maintained by the support payment clearinghouse, and the clerk shall use this information to provide payment histories to all litigants, attorneys and interested persons and the court. For all non-title IV-D support cases, the clerk shall load new orders, modify order amounts, respond to payment inquiries, research payment related issues, release payments pursuant to orders of the court and update demographic and new employer information. The clerk shall forward orders of assignment to employers for non-title IV-D support orders. Within five business days the clerk shall provide to the department any new address, order of assignment or employment information the clerk receives regarding any support order. The information shall be provided as prescribed by the department of economic security in consultation with the administrative office of the courts.

D. The support payment clearinghouse shall receive a monthly fee for handling support and maintenance payments. The director, by rule, may establish this fee. The court shall order payment of the handling fee as part of the order for support or maintenance. The handling fee shall not be deducted from the support or maintenance portion of the payment.

E. In calculating support arrearages not reduced to a final written money judgment, interest accrues at the rate of ten per cent per annum beginning at the end of the month following the month in which the support payment is due, and interest accrues only on the principal and not on interest. A support arrearage reduced to a final written money judgment accrues interest at the rate of ten per cent per annum and accrues interest only on the principal and not on interest.

F. Past support reduced to a final written money judgment before September 26, 2008 and pursuant to section 25-320, subsection C or section 25-809, subsection B accrues interest at the rate of ten per cent per annum beginning on entry of the judgment by the court and accrues interest only on the principal and not on interest. Past support reduced to a final written money judgment beginning on September 26, 2008 and pursuant to section 25-320, subsection C or section 25-809, subsection B does not accrue interest for any time period.

G. Any direct payments not paid through the clearinghouse or any equitable credits of principal or interest permitted by law and allowed by the court after a hearing shall be applied to support arrearages as directed in the court order. The court shall make specific findings in support of any payments or credits allowed. If the court order does not expressly state the dates the payments or credits are to be applied, the payments or credits shall be applied on the date of the entry of the order that allows the payments or credits. In a title IV-D case, if a court order does not indicate on its face that the state was either represented at or had notice of the hearing or proceeding where the payments or credits were determined, the court order shall not reduce any sum owed to the department or its agent without written approval of the department or its agent.

H. Any credit against support arrearages, other than by court order, shall be made only by written affidavit of direct payment or waiver of support arrearages signed by the person entitled to receive the support or by that person and the person ordered to make the support payment. The affidavit of direct payment or waiver of support arrearages shall be filed directly with the clerk of the court, who shall enter the information into the statewide case registry. Any credits against support arrearages shall be applied as of the dates contained in the affidavit or the date of the affidavit if no other date is specified in the affidavit. In a title IV-D case, the affidavit of direct payment or waiver of support arrearages shall not reduce any sum owed to the department or its agent without written approval of the department or its agent.

I. An arrearage calculator may be developed by a government agency using an automated transfer of data from the clearinghouse and the child support registry. The arrearage figure produced by this calculator is presumed to be the correct amount of the arrearage.