Montana Code 40-5-255. Charging off child support debts as uncollectible — sale of support debts
40-5-255. Charging off child support debts as uncollectible — sale of support debts. (1) Any support debt due the department from an obligor, which debt the department determines uncollectible, may be transferred from accounts receivable to a suspense account and cease to be accounted as an asset. If a warrant for distraint has been filed and the support debt has subsequently been charged off as uncollectible, the department shall issue a release of lien.
Terms Used In Montana Code 40-5-255
- Child: means :
(i)a person under 18 years of age who is not otherwise emancipated, self-supporting, married, or a member of the armed forces of the United States;
(ii)a person under 19 years of age and still in high school;
(iii)a person who is mentally or physically incapacitated if the incapacity began prior to the person's 18th birthday; or
(iv)in a IV-D case, a person for whom:
(A)support rights are assigned under 53-2-613;
(B)a public assistance payment has been made;
(C)the department is providing support enforcement services under 40-5-203; or
(D)the department has received a referral for IV-D services from an agency of another state or an Indian tribe under the provisions of the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, the Revised Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act, the Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act, or Title IV-D of the Social Security Act. See Montana Code 40-5-201
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Credit bureau: An agency that collects individual credit information and sells it for a fee to creditors so they can make a decision on granting loans. Typical clients include banks, mortgage lenders, credit card companies, and other financing companies. (Also commonly referred to as consumer-reporting agency or credit-reporting agency.) Source: OCC
- Department: means the department of public health and human services. See Montana Code 40-5-201
- Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
- 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.
- Obligor: means a person, including an alleged father, who owes a duty of support. See Montana Code 40-5-201
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
(2)At any time after 10 years from the date of termination of the support obligation or after 10 years from entry of a lump-sum judgment or order for support arrears, whichever is later, the department may charge off as uncollectible any support debt upon which the department finds there is no available, practical, or lawful means by which the support debt may be collected. A proceeding or action under the provisions of this part may not be begun after expiration of the 10-year period to institute collection of a support debt. This part may not be construed to render invalid or nonactionable a warrant for distraint issued by the department prior to the expiration of the 10-year period or an assignment of earnings executed prior to the expiration of the 10-year period.
(3)The department may discount and sell to a private collection agency, credit bureau, or other private entity any interest that the state and the department may have in the unpaid balance of the support debt created by 40-5-221 and 53-4-248 or assigned to the department under 53-2-613.
(a)The sale must be by sealed bid to the highest bidder provided that the highest bid is not less than 10% of the value of the support debt subject to the sale.
(b)The sale must be subject to conditions and terms that the department may set out in a sales contract.
(c)The department shall publish notice of the sale in a newspaper having statewide circulation once a week for 4 successive weeks.
(d)Proceeds must be paid into the state treasury to the credit of the child support enforcement division special revenue fund.