Full Faith and Credit for Child Support Orders Act

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Full Faith and Credit for Child 
Support Orders Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
        (1) there is a large and growing number of child support cases 
    annually involving disputes between parents who reside in different 
    States;
        (2) the laws by which the courts of different jurisdictions 
    determine their authority to establish child support orders are not 
    uniform;
        (3) those laws, along with the limits imposed by the Federal 
    system on the authority of each State to take certain actions 
    outside its own boundaries--
            (A) encourage noncustodial parents to relocate outside the 
        States where their children and the custodial parents reside to 
        avoid the jurisdiction of the courts of such States, resulting 
        in an increase in the amount of interstate travel and 
        communication required to establish and collect on child 
        support orders and a burden on custodial parents that is 
        expensive, time consuming, and disruptive of occupations and 
        commercial activity;
            (B) contribute to the pressing problem of relatively low 
        levels of child support payments in interstate cases and to 
        inequities in child support payments levels that are based 
        solely on the noncustodial parent's choice of residence;
            (C) encourage a disregard of court orders resulting in 
        massive arrearages nationwide;
            (D) allow noncustodial parents to avoid the payment of 
        regularly scheduled child support payments for extensive 
        periods of time, resulting in substantial hardship for the 
        children for whom support is due and for their custodians; and
            (E) lead to the excessive relitigation of cases and to the 
        establishment of conflicting orders by the courts of various 
        jurisdictions, resulting in confusion, waste of judicial 
        resources, disrespect for the courts, and a diminution of 
        public confidence in the rule of law; and
        (4) among the results of the conditions described in this 
    subsection are--
            (A) the failure of the courts of the States to give full 
        faith and credit to the judicial proceedings of the other 
        States;
            (B) the deprivation of rights of liberty and property 
        without due process of law;
            (C) burdens on commerce among the States; and
            (D) harm to the welfare of children and their parents and 
        other custodians.
    (b) Statement of Policy.--In view of the findings made in 
subsection (a), it is necessary to establish national standards under 
which the courts of the various States shall determine their 
jurisdiction to issue a child support order and the effect to be given 
by each State to child support orders issued by the courts of other 
States.
    (c) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
        (1) to facilitate the enforcement of child support orders among 
    the States;
        (2) to discourage continuing interstate controversies over 
    child support in the interest of greater financial stability and 
    secure family relationships for the child; and
        (3) to avoid jurisdictional competition and conflict among 
    State courts in the establishment of child support orders.

SEC. 3. FULL FAITH AND CREDIT FOR CHILD SUPPORT ORDERS.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 115 of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after section 1738A the following new section:

``Sec. 1738B. Full faith and credit for child support orders

    ``(a) General Rule.--The appropriate authorities of each State--
        ``(1) shall enforce according to its terms a child support 
    order made consistently with this section by a court of another 
    State; and
        ``(2) shall not seek or make a modification of such an order 
    except in accordance with subsection (e).
    ``(b) Definitions.--In this section:
        ```child' means--
            ``(A) a person under 18 years of age; and
            ``(B) a person 18 or more years of age with respect to whom 
        a child support order has been issued pursuant to the laws of a 
        State.
        ```child's State' means the State in which a child resides.
        ```child support' means a payment of money, continuing support, 
    or arrearages or the provision of a benefit (including payment of 
    health insurance, child care, and educational expenses) for the 
    support of a child.
        ```child support order'--
            ``(A) means a judgment, decree, or order of a court 
        requiring the payment of child support in periodic amounts or 
        in a lump sum; and
            ``(B) includes--
                ``(i) a permanent or temporary order; and
                ``(ii) an initial order or a modification of an order.
        ```contestant' means--
            ``(A) a person (including a parent) who--
                ``(i) claims a right to receive child support;
                ``(ii) is a party to a proceeding that may result in 
            the issuance of a child support order; or
                ``(iii) is under a child support order; and
            ``(B) a State or political subdivision of a State to which 
        the right to obtain child support has been assigned.
        ```court' means a court or administrative agency of a State 
    that is authorized by State law to establish the amount of child 
    support payable by a contestant or make a modification of a child 
    support order.
        ```modification' means a change in a child support order that 
    affects the amount, scope, or duration of the order and modifies, 
    replaces, supersedes, or otherwise is made subsequent to the child 
    support order.
        ```State' means a State of the United States, the District of 
    Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the territories and 
    possessions of the United States, and Indian country (as defined in 
    section 1151 of title 18).
    ``(c) Requirements of Child Support Orders.--A child support order 
made is made consistently with this section if--
        ``(1) a court that makes the order, pursuant to the laws of the 
    State in which the court is located--
            ``(A) has subject matter jurisdiction to hear the matter 
        and enter such an order; and
            ``(B) has personal jurisdiction over the contestants; and
        ``(2) reasonable notice and opportunity to be heard is given to 
    the contestants.
    ``(d) Continuing Jurisdiction.--A court of a State that has made a 
child support order consistently with this section has continuing, 
exclusive jurisdiction over the order if the State is the child's State 
or the residence of any contestant unless the court of another State, 
acting in accordance with subsection (e), has made a modification of 
the order.
    ``(e) Authority To Modify Orders.--A court of a State may make a 
modification of a child support order with respect to a child that is 
made by a court of another State if--
        ``(1) the court has jurisdiction to make such a child support 
    order; and
        ``(2)(A) the court of the other State no longer has continuing, 
    exclusive jurisdiction of the child support order because that 
    State no longer is the child's State or the residence of any 
    contestant; or
        ``(B) each contestant has filed written consent to that court's 
    making the modification and assuming continuing, exclusive 
    jurisdiction over the order.
    ``(f) Enforcement of Prior Orders.--A court of a State that no 
longer has continuing, exclusive jurisdiction of a child support order 
may enforce the order with respect to nonmodifiable obligations and 
unsatisfied obligations that accrued before the date on which a 
modification of the order is made under subsection (e).
    ``(g) Choice of Law.--
        ``(1) In general.--In a proceeding to establish, modify, or 
    enforce a child support order, the forum State's law shall apply 
    except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3).
        ``(2) Law of state of issuance of order.--In interpreting a 
    child support order, a court shall apply the law of the State of 
    the court that issued the order.
        ``(3) Period of limitation.--In an action to enforce a child 
    support order, a court shall apply the statute of limitation of the 
    forum State or the State of the court that issued the order, 
    whichever statute provides the longer period of limitation.''.
    (b) Technical Amendment.--The chapter analysis for chapter 115 of 
title 28, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item 
relating to section 1738A the following new item:
``1738B. Full faith and credit for child support orders.''.







                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.







                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.

Summary: Full Faith and Credit for Child Support Orders Act - Amends the Federal judicial code to require the appropriate authority of each State to enforce according to its terms a child support order made by a court of another State, provided that the court had subject matter jurisdiction to hear the matter and enter such an order and personal jurisdiction over the contestants and that the contestants were given reasonable notice and opportunity to be heard. Prohibits such an authority from seeking or making a modification of such an order unless the authority has jurisdiction to make such a child support order and: (1) the court of the issuing State no longer has continuing, exclusive jurisdiction of the order because it no longer is the child's State or the residence of any contestant. Or (2) each contestant has filed written consent to that authority making the modification and assuming continuing, exclusive jurisdiction over the order. Permits a State court that no longer has continuing jurisdiction over such orders to enforce prior orders with respect to unsatisfied obligations. Requires that the forum State's law apply in a proceeding to establish, modify, or enforce a child support order, except that in: (1) interpreting a child support order, a court shall apply the law of the State of the court that issued the order. And (2) an action to enforce a child support order, a court shall apply the statute of limitation of the forum State or the State of the court that issued the order, whichever statute provides the longer period of limitation.