West Virginia Code 48-16-307 – Duties of support enforcement agency
(a) A support enforcement agency of this state, upon request, shall provide services to a petitioner in a proceeding under this article.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 48-16-307
- 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'. See West Virginia Code 48-16-102
- 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 or foreign country. See West Virginia Code 48-16-102
- Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
- Foreign country: means a country, including a political subdivision thereof, other than the United States, that authorizes the issuance of support orders and:
(A) Which has been declared under the law of the United States to be a foreign reciprocating country. See West Virginia Code 48-16-102
- Income: includes earnings or other periodic entitlements to money from any source and any other property subject to withholding for support under the law of this state. See West Virginia Code 48-16-102
- Income withholding order: means an order or other legal process directed to an obligor'. See West Virginia Code 48-16-102
- Judgment: includes decrees and orders for the payment of money, or the conveyance or delivery of land or personal property, or some interest therein, or any undertaking, bond or recognizance which has the legal effect of a judgment. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form. See West Virginia Code 48-16-102
- Registering tribunal: means a tribunal in which a support order or judgment determining parentage of a child is registered. See West Virginia Code 48-16-102
- 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. See West Virginia Code 48-16-102
- Support enforcement agency: means a public official or governmental entity, or private agency authorized to:
(A) Seek enforcement of support orders or laws relating to the duty of support. See West Virginia Code 48-16-102
- Support order: means a judgment, decree, order, decision or directive, whether temporary, final or subject to modification, issued in a state or foreign country for the benefit of a child, a spouse or a former spouse which provides for monetary support, health care, arrearages, retroactive support or reimbursement for financial assistance provided to an individual obligee in place of child support. See West Virginia Code 48-16-102
- Tribunal: means a court, administrative agency or quasi-judicial entity authorized to establish, enforce or modify support orders or to determine parentage of a child. See West Virginia Code 48-16-102
(b) A support enforcement agency of this state that is providing services to the petitioner shall:
(1) Take all steps necessary to enable an appropriate tribunal of this state, another state or a foreign country to obtain jurisdiction over the respondent;
(2) Request an appropriate tribunal to set a date, time and place for a hearing;
(3) Make a reasonable effort to obtain all relevant information, including information as to income and property of the parties;
(4) Within two days, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, after receipt of a notice in a record from an initiating, responding or registering tribunal, send a copy of the notice to the petitioner;
(5) Within two days, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, after receipt of communication in a record from the respondent or the respondent's attorney, send a copy of the communication to the petitioner; and
(6) Notify the petitioner if jurisdiction over the respondent cannot be obtained.
(c) A support enforcement agency of this state that requests registration of a child support order in this state for enforcement or for modification shall make reasonable efforts:
(1) To ensure that the order to be registered is the controlling order; or
(2) If two or more child support orders exist and the identity of the controlling order has not been determined, to ensure that a request for such a determination is made in a tribunal having jurisdiction to do so.
(d) A support enforcement agency of this state that requests registration and enforcement of a support order, arrears or judgment stated in a foreign currency shall convert the amounts stated in the foreign currency into the equivalent amounts in dollars under the applicable official or market exchange rate as publicly reported.
(e) A support enforcement agency of this state shall request a tribunal of this state to issue a child support order and an income withholding order that redirect payment of current support, arrears, and interest if requested to do so by a support enforcement agency of another state pursuant to section 319[§48-16-319].
(f) This article does not create or negate a relationship of attorney and client or other fiduciary relationship between a support enforcement agency or the attorney for the agency and the individual being assisted by the agency.