West Virginia Code 48-16-701 – Definitions
In this part:
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 48-16-701
- 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
- Convention: means the Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance, concluded at The Hague on November 23, 2007. See West Virginia Code 48-16-102
- 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
- Foreign tribunal: means a court, administrative agency or quasi-judicial entity of a foreign country which is authorized to establish, enforce or modify support orders or to determine parentage of a child. See West Virginia Code 48-16-102
- Obligee: means :
(A) An individual to whom a duty of support is or is alleged to be owed or in whose favor a support order or a judgment determining parentage of a child has been issued. See West Virginia Code 48-16-102
- Obligor: means an individual or the estate of a decedent that:
(A) Owes or is alleged to owe a duty of support. See West Virginia Code 48-16-102
- 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
- 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 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) "Application" means a request under the convention by an obligee or obligor, or on behalf of a child, made through a central authority for assistance from another central authority.
(2) "Central authority" means the entity designated by the United States or a foreign country described in section 102(5)(D) [§48-16-102(5)(D]] to perform the functions specified in the convention.
(3) "Convention support order" means a support order of a tribunal of a foreign country described in section 102(5)(D) [§48-16-102(5)(D)].
(4) "Direct request" means a petition filed by an individual in a tribunal of this state in a proceeding involving an obligee, obligor or child residing outside the United States.
(5) "Foreign central authority" means the entity designated by a foreign country described in section 102(5)(D) [§48-16-102(5)(D)], to perform the functions specified in the convention.
(6) "Foreign support agreement:"
(A) Means an agreement for support in a record that:
(i) Is enforceable as a support order in the country of origin;
(ii) Has been:
(I) Formally drawn up or registered as an authentic instrument by a foreign tribunal; or
(II) Authenticated by, or concluded, registered or filed with a foreign tribunal; and
(iii) May be reviewed and modified by a foreign tribunal; and
(B) Includes a maintenance arrangement or authentic instrument under the convention.
(7) "United States central authority" means the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services.