West Virginia Code 48-16-604 – Choice of law
(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (d) of this section, the law of the issuing state or foreign country governs:
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 48-16-604
- 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
- Issuing state: means the state in which a tribunal issues a support order or a judgment determining parentage of a child. See West Virginia Code 48-16-102
- Law: includes decisional and statutory law and rules and regulations having the force of law. See West Virginia Code 48-16-102
- Responding tribunal: means the authorized tribunal in a responding state or foreign country. 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
- Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
- 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
(1) The nature, extent, amount and duration of current payments under a registered support order;
(2) The computation and payment of arrearages and accrual of interest on the arrearages under the support order; and
(3) The existence and satisfaction of other obligations under the support order.
(b) In a proceeding for arrears under a registered support order, the statute of limitation of this state or of the issuing state or foreign country, whichever is longer, applies.
(c) A responding tribunal of this state shall apply the procedures and remedies of this state to enforce current support and collect arrears and interest due on a support order of another state or a foreign country registered in this state.
(d) After a tribunal of this state or another state determines which is the controlling order and issues an order consolidating arrears, if any, a tribunal of this state shall prospectively apply the law of the state or foreign country issuing the controlling order, including its law on interest on arrears, on current and future support and on consolidated arrears.