Terms Used In Montana Code > Title 40 > Chapter 5 - Enforcement of Support

• 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.
• Affidavit: means a sworn written declaration made before an officer authorized to administer oaths or an unsworn written declaration made under penalty of perjury as provided in 1-6-105. See Montana Code 1-1-203
• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• Alleged father: means a person who is alleged to have engaged in sexual intercourse with a child's mother during a possible time of conception of the child or a person who is presumed to be a child's father under the provisions of 40-6-105. See Montana Code 40-5-201
• Alternative arrangement: means a written agreement between the obligor and obligee, and the department in the case of an assignment of rights under 53-2-613, that has been approved and entered in the record of the court or administrative authority issuing or modifying the support order. See Montana Code 40-5-403
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
• Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. ^{Source: OCC}
• Chambers: A judge's office.
• 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

• Child: means :

  (i)a person under 18 years of age who is not emancipated, self-supporting, married, or a member of the armed forces of the United States;

  (ii)a person under 19 years of age who is still in high school;

  (iii)a person who is mentally or physically incapacitated when the incapacity began prior to that person reaching 18 years of age; and

  (iv)in IV-D cases, 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 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 40-5-701

• Clerk of court: An officer appointed by the court to work with the chief judge in overseeing the court's administration, especially to assist in managing the flow of cases through the court and to maintain court records.
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Conservation activity: means an activity for which a conservation license is issued by the department of fish, wildlife, and parks pursuant to 87-2-201. See Montana Code 40-5-701
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• 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}
• Customary: means according to usage. See Montana Code 1-1-206
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Date of hire: means the first day that an employee starts work for which the employee is owed compensation by the payor of income. See Montana Code 40-5-901
• Decedent: A deceased person.
• Delinquency: means a support debt or support obligation due under a support order in an amount greater than or equal to 6 months' support payments as of the date of service of a notice of intent to suspend a license. See Montana Code 40-5-701
• Department: means the department of public health and human services. See Montana Code 40-5-201
• Department: means the department of public health and human services provided for in 2-15-2201. See Montana Code 40-5-403
• Department: means the department of public health and human services. See Montana Code 40-5-701
• Department: means the department of public health and human services provided for in 2-15-2201. See Montana Code 40-5-901
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Director: means the director of the department of public health and human services or the director's authorized representative. See Montana Code 40-5-201
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
• Electronic funds transfer: The transfer of money between accounts by consumer electronic systems-such as automated teller machines (ATMs) and electronic payment of bills-rather than by check or cash. (Wire transfers, checks, drafts, and paper instruments do not fall into this category.) ^{Source: OCC}
• Employee: means a person 18 years of age or older who performs labor in this state for an employer in this state for compensation and for whom the employer withholds federal or state tax liabilities from the employee's compensation. See Montana Code 40-5-901
• Employer: includes a payor. See Montana Code 40-5-303
• Employer: includes a payor. See Montana Code 40-5-403
• Employer: means a person, firm, corporation, association, governmental entity, or labor organization that engages an employee for compensation and withholds federal or state tax liabilities from the employee's compensation. See Montana Code 40-5-901
• 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.
• Extradition: The formal process of delivering an accused or convicted person from authorities in one state to authorities in another state.
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• Financial institution: means :

  (a)a depository institution, as defined in section 3(c) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, 12 U. See Montana Code 40-5-403

• Foreign support order: means a support order entered or last modified by a court or administrative agency of another state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, a territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, an Indian tribe, or a foreign jurisdiction. See Montana Code 40-5-901
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Garnishment: Generally, garnishment is a court proceeding in which a creditor asks a court to order a third party who owes money to the debtor or otherwise holds assets belonging to the debtor to turn over to the creditor any of the debtor
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• Guidelines: means the child support guidelines adopted pursuant to 40-5-209. See Montana Code 40-5-201
• Hearsay: Statements by a witness who did not see or hear the incident in question but heard about it from someone else. Hearsay is usually not admissible as evidence in court.
• Income: means any form of periodic payment to a person, regardless of source, including commissions, bonuses, workers' compensation, disability benefits, payments under a pension or retirement program, interest and earnings, and wages. See Montana Code 40-5-303
• Income: means any form of payment to a person, regardless of source, including commissions, bonuses, workers' compensation, disability payments, payments under a pension or retirement program, interest, and earnings and wages. See Montana Code 40-5-403
• Indemnification: In general, a collateral contract or assurance under which one person agrees to secure another person against either anticipated financial losses or potential adverse legal consequences. ^{Source: FDIC}
• Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. ^{Source: OCC}
• IV-D agency: means the agency responsible for the provision of services under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act, 42 U. See Montana Code 40-5-403
• IV-D case: means a case in which the department is providing support enforcement services as a result of:

  (a)an assignment of support rights under 53-2-613;

  (b)a payment of public assistance;

  (c)an application for support enforcement services under 40-5-203; or

  (d)a referral for services from an agency of another state or an Indian tribe under the provisions of the Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act, the Revised Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act, the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, or Title IV-D of the Social Security Act. See Montana Code 40-5-701

• IV-D case: means a case in which the department is providing services under the provisions of Title IV-D of the Social Security Act and the regulations promulgated under that act. See Montana Code 40-5-901
• Knowingly: means only a knowledge that the facts exist which bring the act or omission within the provisions of this code. See Montana Code 1-1-204
• Labor organization: means a labor union, union local, union affiliate, or union hiring hall. See Montana Code 40-5-901
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• License: means a license, certificate, registration, permit, or any other authorization issued by an agency of the state of Montana granting a person a right or privilege to engage in a business, occupation, profession, conservation activity, or any other privilege that is subject to suspension, revocation, forfeiture, termination, or a declaration of ineligibility to purchase by the licensing authority prior to its date of expiration. See Montana Code 40-5-701
• Licensing authority: means any department, division, board, agency, or instrumentality of this state that issues a license. See Montana Code 40-5-701
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Need: means the necessary costs of food, clothing, shelter, and medical care for the support of a child or children. See Montana Code 40-5-201
• 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.
• Obligee: means :

  (a)a person to whom a duty of support is owed and who is receiving support enforcement services under this part; or

  (b)a public agency of this or another state or an Indian tribe having the right to receive current or accrued support payments. See Montana Code 40-5-201

• Obligee: means either a person to whom a duty of support is owed or a public agency of this or another state or an Indian tribe to which a person has assigned the right to receive current and accrued support payments. See Montana Code 40-5-403
• Obligee: means :

  (a)a person to whom a support debt or support obligation is owed; or

  (b)a public agency of this or another state or an Indian tribe that has the right to receive current or accrued support payments or that is providing support enforcement services under this chapter. See Montana Code 40-5-701

• Obligee: means the payee under a support order or a person or agency entitled to receive support payments. See Montana Code 40-5-901
• Obligor: means a person, including an alleged father, who owes a duty of support. See Montana Code 40-5-201
• Obligor: means a person who owes a duty to make payments under a support order. See Montana Code 40-5-403
• Obligor: means a person who owes a duty of support or who is subject to a subpoena or warrant in a paternity or child support proceeding. See Montana Code 40-5-701
• Obligor: means a person who is obligated to pay support under a support order. See Montana Code 40-5-901
• Oral argument: An opportunity for lawyers to summarize their position before the court and also to answer the judges' questions.
• Order suspending a license: means an order issued by a support enforcement entity to suspend a license. See Montana Code 40-5-701
• Parent: means the natural or adoptive parent of a child. See Montana Code 40-5-201
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Paternity genetic test: means a test that demonstrates through examination of genetic markers either that an alleged father is not the natural father of a child or that there is a probability that an alleged father is the natural father of a child. See Montana Code 40-5-201
• Payment plan: includes but is not limited to a plan approved by the support enforcement entity that provides sufficient security to ensure compliance with a support order and that incorporates voluntary or involuntary income withholding under part 3 or 4 of this chapter or a similar plan for periodic payment of a support debt and, if applicable, current and future support. See Montana Code 40-5-701
• Payor: means any entity that pays income to an obligor on a periodic basis and includes any person, firm, corporation, association, employer, trustee, political subdivision, or state agency or an agent of any one of them, subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of this state under Rule 4(b) of the Montana Rules of Civil Procedure. See Montana Code 40-5-303
• Payor: means any payor of income to an obligor and includes any person, firm, corporation, association, employer, trustee, political subdivision, state agency, or any agent thereof who is subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of this state under Rule 4(b) of the Montana Rules of Civil Procedure or any employer under the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act contained in part 10 of this chapter. See Montana Code 40-5-403
• Payor: means :

  (a)an employer or person engaged in a trade or business in this state who engages an employee for compensation; or

  (b)when used in context with income withholding, means a person, firm, corporation, association, employer, trustee, political subdivision, state agency, or agent paying income to an obligor on a periodic basis. See Montana Code 40-5-901

• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Personal property: means money, goods, chattels, things in action, and evidences of debt. See Montana Code 1-1-205
• Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. ^{Source: OCC}
• Presiding officer: A majority-party Senator who presides over the Senate and is charged with maintaining order and decorum, recognizing Members to speak, and interpreting the Senate's rules, practices and precedents.
• Process: means a writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings. See Montana Code 1-1-202
• Public assistance: means any type of monetary or other assistance for a child, including medical and foster care benefits. See Montana Code 40-5-201
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Real property: means lands, tenements, hereditaments, and possessory title to public lands. See Montana Code 1-1-205
• Rehire: means the first day, following a termination of employment, that an employee begins to again perform work or provide services for a payor. See Montana Code 40-5-901
• Remand: When an appellate court sends a case back to a lower court for further proceedings.
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
• Sex: means the organization of the body parts and gametes for reproduction in human beings and other organisms. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Subpoena: means a writ or order issued by a court or the department in a proceeding or as part of an investigation related to the paternity or support of a child that commands a person to appear at a particular place and time to testify or produce documents or things under the person's control. See Montana Code 40-5-701
• Subpoena duces tecum: A command to a witness to produce documents.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Support enforcement entity: means :

  (a)in IV-D cases, the department; or

  (b)in all other cases, the district court that entered the support order or a district court in which the support order is registered. See Montana Code 40-5-701

• support obligation: means the amount created by:

  (a)the failure to provide for the medical, health, and support needs of a child under the laws of this or any other state or under a support order;

  (b)a support order for spousal maintenance of the custodial parent; or

  (c)fines, fees, penalties, interest, and other funds and costs that the department is authorized under this chapter to collect by the use of any procedure available for the payment, enforcement, and collection of child support or spousal maintenance or support. See Montana Code 40-5-201

• support obligation: means the amount created by the failure to provide or pay:

  (a)support to a child under the laws of this or any other state or under a support order;

  (b)court-ordered spousal maintenance or other court-ordered support for the child's custodial parent; or

  (c)fines, fees, penalties, interest, and other funds and costs that the support enforcement entity is authorized to collect by the use of any procedure available to the entity for the payment, enforcement, and collection of child support or spousal maintenance or support. See Montana Code 40-5-701

• Support order: means an order, whether temporary or final, that:

  (a)provides for the payment of a specific amount of money, expressed in periodic increments or as a lump-sum amount, for the support of the child, including an amount expressed in dollars for medical and health needs, child care, education, recreation, clothing, transportation, and other related expenses and costs specific to the needs of the child;

  (b)is issued by:

  (i)a district court of this state;

  (ii)a court of appropriate jurisdiction of another state, Indian tribe, or foreign country;

  (iii)an administrative agency pursuant to proceedings under this part; or

  (iv)an administrative agency of another state, Indian tribe, or foreign country with a hearing function and process similar to those of the department under this part; and

  (c)when the context requires, includes:

  (i)judgments and orders providing periodic payments for the maintenance or support of the custodial parent of a child receiving services under this chapter; and

  (ii)amounts for the recovery of fines, fees, penalties, interest, and other funds and costs that the department is authorized under this chapter to collect by the use of any procedure available for the payment, enforcement, and collection of child support or spousal maintenance or support. See Montana Code 40-5-201

• Support order: has the meaning provided in 40-5-201. See Montana Code 40-5-403
• Support order: means an order that provides a determinable amount for temporary or final periodic payment of a support debt or support obligation and that may include payment of a determinable or indeterminable amount for insurance covering the child issued by:

  (i)a district court of this state;

  (ii)a court of appropriate jurisdiction of another state, an Indian tribe, or a foreign country;

  (iii)an administrative agency pursuant to proceedings under Title 40, chapter 5, part 2; or

  (iv)an administrative agency of another state or an Indian tribe with a hearing function and process similar to those of the department. See Montana Code 40-5-701

• Support order: means a judgment, decree, or order, whether temporary or final, that:

  (a)is for the benefit of a child or a state agency;

  (b)provides for monetary support, health care, arrearages, or reimbursement;

  (c)may include related costs and fees, interest, and similar other relief; and

  (d)may include an order for maintenance or other support to be paid to a child's custodial parent. See Montana Code 40-5-901

• Suspension: includes the withdrawal, withholding, revocation, forfeiture, or nonissuance of a license and license privileges. See Montana Code 40-5-701
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testify: means every mode of oral statement under oath or affirmation. See Montana Code 1-1-202
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Uniform Commercial Code: A set of statutes enacted by the various states to provide consistency among the states' commercial laws. It includes negotiable instruments, sales, stock transfers, trust and warehouse receipts, and bills of lading. ^{Source: OCC}
• Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
• Warrant: means a bench warrant, a warrant to appear, an order to show cause, or any other order issued by a court relating to the appearance of a party in a paternity or child support proceeding. See Montana Code 40-5-701
• Willfully: when applied to the intent with which an act is done or omitted, means a purpose or willingness to commit the act or make the omission referred to. See Montana Code 1-1-204
• Writing: includes printing. See Montana Code 1-1-203