2023 Montana Code Annotated › Title 40. Family Law › Chapter 5. Enforcement of Support › Part 9. Centralized Child Support Registration and Payment › 40-5-909. Centralized payment center -- mandatory payments to center

40-5-909. Centralized payment center -- mandatory payments to center.
(1) Payments due under a support order must be paid through the department for processing and distribution to the person or agency entitled to receive the payment whenever:
(a) the case is receiving IV-D services; or
(b) the support obligation is payable through non IV-D income withholding.
(2) A support order entered or modified in this state after October 1, 1998, that excludes the obligor from paying support through income withholding must provide that:
(a) if the case is or later becomes a IV-D case or if support becomes payable through IV-D or non IV-D income withholding, support payments must be paid through the department; and
(b) a payment that is not made to the department does not constitute payment of support or credit toward satisfaction of the support obligation unless the payment is verified by the department to its satisfaction.
(3) (a) If a support order does not include the provisions required by subsection (2) or directs payment of support to a payee other than the department, the department may give written notice to the obligor and obligee directing or redirecting payments to the department. After receipt of the notice, payment other than as directed does not constitute payment of support or credit toward satisfaction of the support obligation.
(b) An obligor who redirects payments to the department is not liable to the obligee or answerable to the court for not making payments as directed by the court.
(c) While support is required to be paid through the department, the notice directing or redirecting payments to the department may not be superseded by any subsequent order of a court or agency directing the obligor to make payments other than to the department.
(4) After the obligor has been ordered or directed to make payments to the department under this section, the obligor shall make the payments to the department and is not entitled to credit against a support obligation for payment made to a person or agency other than the department.
(5) (a) When the obligor is paying support through IV-D or non IV-D income withholding, the income-withholding order must direct the payor to make the payments through the department.
(b) If a payor is directed by the income-withholding order to make payments to a payee other than the department, the department may redirect the payments to the department by written order to the employer or payor. The order supersedes any prior, inconsistent court or agency order.
(c) For as long as income withholding is appropriate to the case, the directive to the payor to make payments to the department may not be superseded by any subsequent order of a court or agency directing payments to any other payee.
(6) Income-withholding orders may be issued in this state pursuant only to 40-5-308 through 40-5-315 and 40-5-401 through 40-5-432.
(7) Payments of support that are received by the department in interstate cases or as the result of a writ of execution, warrant for distraint, state and federal tax offset, or similar enforcement remedy must be processed through the case registry and payment processing unit.
(8) (a) If, through a private collection action, an obligee obtains a payment of support that must be processed and distributed through the case registry and payment processing unit, the obligee shall forward the payment to the department within 5 working days of the receipt of the payment.
(b) If the department takes an enforcement action against the obligor because the obligee failed to timely forward a payment of support under subsection (8)(a), the obligee is liable in a civil action to the obligor for the amount that should have been forwarded to the department.
(9) (a) Payments made to the department under this section must be by cash, personal or business check, money order, automatic bank account withdrawal, certified funds, electronic funds transfer services, or any other means acceptable to the department.
(b) Payments may not be credited to the obligor's child support obligation until actually received by the department.
(c) The withholding of income by a payor or employer under an order to withhold issued under Title 40, chapter 5, part 3 or 4, is not alone sufficient for credit against an obligor's support obligation. Payments withheld from an obligor's income that are not actually received by the department may not be credited to the obligor's child support obligation. The payor or employer is liable to the obligor in a civil action initiated by the obligor for the amount withheld but not paid to the department.
(d) A check presented to the department as payment, whether by the obligor, the obligor's employer, or another payor on the obligor's behalf, that is dishonored by the issuing bank may not be credited to the obligor's child support obligation.
(e) A payment made out to or delivered to any other person or agency other than to the department may not be credited to the obligor's support obligation.
(10) An uncredited payment under this section is considered as still owed by the obligor and may be collected using any remedy available under law.
(11) If the department is providing IV-D services for the enforcement of a tribal court order that expressly permits satisfaction of a child support obligation with noncash resources, this section applies to the portion of the support obligation paid or payable with cash resources.
History: En. Sec. 5, Ch. 552, L. 1997; amd. Sec. 15, Ch. 352, L. 2001; amd. Sec. 79, Ch. 114, L. 2003; amd. Sec. 17, Ch. 21, L. 2005; amd. Sec. 6, Ch. 131, L. 2019.