Child Support

questions & answers

Question: I need to file a child support modication orig. filed in Tucson but I live in Iowa. How do I do that?

Answer:

Your question leaves out some details that might make a huge difference. For example, it would be helpful to know where *both* parents and the child are living, whether the parties have all agreed to one particular state exercising jurisdiction over the child support case, and whether there is more than one support order on the books. For information specific to your situation, you may want to consult with an attorney.

Arizona adopted the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA) in 2004-05. The act is comprised of a series of laws designed to ensure that the 50 States avoid the issuance of conflicting child support orders. For this reason, your first effort should be to determine which state possesses "exclusive continuing jurisdiction" (ECJ) over the issue of child support. Normally, ECJ will vest in the state that issued a child support order in the first place. So, in your example, because the child support petition (and presumably the resulting order) originated in Tucson, Arizona would possess ECJ, and you would need to apply for modification here. But Arizona could lose ECJ if the parents and child all move away to other locations.

Your question does reveal that you now live in Iowa, but you do not identify yourself as the paying or receiving parent, and you do not indicate where the child currently lives. You also do not indicate whether other individuals (e.g. family members) have intervened in this case and also constitute parties who are entitled to notice. If any one of the three of you still lives in Arizona, or if *all* individual parties agree on the record to keep the case in Arizona (even though both parents and the child have moved away), then the case may stay in Arizona. See A.R.S. § 25-1225(A)(1)&(2).

Identifying the particular state depends on a host of variables. You should strongly consider consulting with an Arizona attorney (or even an Iowa attorney) who specializes in interstate child support issues to discuss the issues that you pose in your question.