2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 26 - HUMAN SERVICES CODE (§§ 26-1-101 — 26-24-101) › Article 13.5 - ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE FOR CHILD SUPPORT ESTABLISHMENT AND ENFORCEMENT (§§ 26-13.5-101 — 26-13.5-123) › Section 26-13.5-105 - Negotiation conference - issuance of order of financial responsibility - filing of order with district court

(1)
Every APA-respondent who has been served with a notice of financial responsibility pursuant to section
26-13.5-104
shall appear at the time and location stated in the notice for a negotiation conference or shall reschedule a negotiation conference prior to the date and time stated in the notice. The negotiation conference must be scheduled not more than thirty-five days after the date of the issuance of the notice of financial responsibility. A negotiation conference may be rescheduled by a request for a standard continuance by the APA-petitioner or APA-respondent. A standard continuance must not be more than seven days after the date of the currently scheduled negotiation conference. The negotiation conference may also be continued for good cause as defined in rules promulgated pursuant to section
26-13.5-113
. If a negotiation conference is continued, the APA-petitioner and APA-respondent must be notified of such continuance by first-class mail, hand delivery, or electronic means if agreed to by both parties. A stipulation in an establishment action may be signed by the APA-respondent and the delegate child support enforcement unit, with or without the signature of the APA-petitioner. If a stipulation is agreed upon at the negotiation conference as to the obligor's duty of support, the delegate child support enforcement unit shall issue an administrative order of financial responsibility setting forth the following:
(a)
The amount of the monthly support obligation and instructions on the manner in which it shall be paid;
(b)
The amount of child support debt due and owing to the state department and instructions on the manner in which it shall be paid;
(c)
The amount of arrearages due and owing and instructions on the manner in which it shall be paid;
(d)
The names and dates of birth of the parties and of the children for whom support is being sought and the parties' residential and mailing addresses, unless that information must not be disclosed pursuant to section
26-13-102.8
.
(e) and (f)
(Deleted by amendment, L. 99, p. 1091, § 12, effective July 1, 1999.)
(2)
The order of financial responsibility has all the force, effect, and remedies of an order of the court, including, but not limited to, wage assignments issued prior to July 1, 1996, or income assignments issued thereafter or contempt of court. Execution may be issued on the order in the same manner and with the same effect as if it were an order of the court. In order to enforce a judgment based on an order issued pursuant to this article 13.5, the judgment creditor shall file with the court a verified entry of judgment specifying the period of time that the judgment covers and the total amount of the judgment for that period. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection (2), a court order for judgment or verified entry of judgment is not required in order for the delegate child support enforcement units to certify past-due amounts of child support to the internal revenue service or state department of revenue for purposes of intercepting a federal or state tax refund.
(3)
(a)
If a stipulation is not agreed upon at the negotiation conference because the APA-petitioner or APA-respondent contests the issue of paternity, the delegate child support enforcement unit shall issue an order for genetic testing if paternity has not already been established by a court or administrative order or determined pursuant to the laws of another state and continue the negotiation conference to allow for the receipt of the genetic testing results. The delegate child support enforcement unit shall pay the costs of the genetic testing and may recover any testing costs from the presumed or alleged father if paternity is established. If paternity has already been established or determined, an APA temporary order must be established without conducting genetic testing.
(b)
If a stipulation is not agreed upon at the continued negotiation conference and genetic testing is required and the evidence relating to paternity does not meet the requirements set forth in section
13-25-126 (1)(g)
, the delegate child support enforcement unit may dismiss the action or take such other appropriate action as allowed by law.
(c)
If a stipulation is not agreed upon at the negotiation conference and parentage is not an issue, or, if parentage is an issue and either the evidence relating to parentage meets the requirements set forth in section
13-25-126 (1)(g)
, or parentage has been previously determined by another state, the delegate child support enforcement unit shall:
(I)
Issue temporary orders establishing current child support, foster care maintenance, and medical support;
(II)
File the notice of financial responsibility and proof of service with the clerk of the district court in the county in which the notice of financial responsibility was issued; and
(III)
Request the court to set a hearing for the matter.
(d)
Notwithstanding any rules of the Colorado rules of civil procedure, a complaint is not required in order to initiate a court action pursuant to this subsection (3). The court shall inform the delegate child support enforcement unit of the date and location of the hearing and the court or the delegate child support enforcement unit shall send a notice to the APA-petitioner and APA-respondent informing each party of the date and location of the hearing. In order to meet federal requirements of expedited process for child support enforcement, the court shall hold a hearing and decide only the issue of child support within ninety days after receipt of notice, as defined in section
26-13.5-102 (13)
, or within six months after receipt of notice, as defined in section
26-13.5-102 (13)
, if the APA-petitioner or APA-respondent is contesting the issue of parentage. The judge or magistrate shall advise the parties that subsequent to an adjudication of parentage, upon request, the court shall enter an order allocating parental responsibilities pursuant to section
14-10-124
(1.5); except that, in matters involving a nonresident party, the court shall first determine whether it has authority to issue an order allocating parental responsibilities pursuant to article
13
of title
14
. If either party requests orders relating to the allocation of parental responsibilities, decision-making responsibility, or parenting time and the court has jurisdiction to hear such matters but is unable to hold a hearing to address all issues within the federally required time frame for expedited process for child support enforcement described above, the court shall set a separate hearing for those issues after entry of the order of support. In any action, including an action for parentage, additional service beyond that originally required pursuant to section
26-13.5-104
is not required if a stipulation is not reached at the negotiation conference and the court is requested to set a hearing in the matter.
(4)
The determination of the monthly support obligation is based on the child support guidelines set forth in section
14-10-115
. The delegate child support enforcement unit may issue an administrative subpoena requesting income information, including but not limited to wage statements, pay stubs, and tax records. In the absence of reliable information, which may include such information as wage statements or other wage information obtained from the department of labor and employment, tax records, and verified statements made by the obligee, the delegate child support enforcement unit shall set the amount included in the order of financial responsibility pursuant to section
14-10-115
, after considering the factors set forth in section
14-10-115 (5)
(b.5)(II).
(5)
If the court or delegate child support enforcement unit finds that the obligor has an obligation to support the child or children mentioned in the petition or notice, the court or delegate child support enforcement unit may enter an order directing the obligor to pay such sums for support as may be reasonable under the circumstances, taking into consideration the factors found in section
19-4-116 (6)
. The court or delegate child support enforcement unit may also enter an order directing the appropriate party to pay for support of the child, in an amount as may be determined by the court or delegate child support enforcement unit to be reasonable under the circumstances, for a time period which occurred prior to the month the child support obligation begins pursuant to section
19-6-104
.
(6)
If a parent is unemployed and not incapacitated, the delegate child support enforcement unit may order such parent to pay such support in accordance with a plan approved by the delegate child support enforcement unit or to participate in work activities, as described in section
14-10-115 (5)(b)(II)
, C.R.S., as deemed appropriate by that delegate child support enforcement unit, as a condition of the child support order.
Amended by 2023 Ch. 330,§ 17, eff. 9/1/2023.
Amended by 2023 Ch. 330,§ 16, eff. 7/1/2023.
Amended by 2023 Ch. 330,§ 15, eff. 7/1/2023.
Amended by 2019 Ch. 270, § 7, eff. 7/1/2019.
Amended by 2018 Ch. 389, § 7, eff. 7/1/2019.
L. 89: Entire article added, p. 1242, § 1, effective 4/1/1990. L. 90: IP(1), (2), and (3) amended, p. 897, § 22, effective July 1. L. 92: Entire section amended, p. 213, § 18, effective August 1. L. 93: (3) amended, p. 582, § 22, effective July 1; (3) amended, p. 1565, § 20, effective September 1. L. 94: (5) added, p. 1544, § 22, effective May 31. L. 96: IP(1), (1)(e), (2), and (3) amended, p. 619, § 27, effective July 1. L. 97: (1)(d) and (3) amended and (6) added, p. 1307, § 44, effective July 1. L. 98: (3)(d) amended, p. 1415, § 83, effective 2/1/1999. L. 99: (1)(d), (1)(e), and (1)(f) amended, p. 1091, § 12, effective July 1. L. 2005: (3)(b) and (3)(c) amended, p. 773, § 53, effective June 1. L. 2007: (6) amended, p. 109, § 8, effective March 16. L. 2008: (1)(d) amended, p. 1351, § 10, effective July 1. L. 2011: (3)(c) amended, (SB 11 -123), ch. 121, p. 121, § 11, effective August 10. L. 2018: IP(1), (2), and (3) amended, (HB 18-1363), ch. 389, p. 2327, § 7, effective 7/1/2019. L. 2019: (4) amended, (HB 19-1215), ch. 2555, p. 2555, § 7, effective July 1.
Amendments to subsection (3) by Senate Bill 93-25 and Senate Bill 93-154 were harmonized.
For the legislative declaration contained in the 1993 act, effective July 1, 1993, amending subsection (3), see section 1 of chapter 165, Session Laws of Colorado 1993. For the legislative declaration contained in the 1997 act amending this section, see section 1 of chapter 236, Session Laws of Colorado 1997.