LD 986, Page 22 - 121th Legislature, FIRST REGULAR Session

Under the one-order system established by UIFSA, it is

necessary to provide a new procedure to eliminate the multiple

orders so common under RURESA and URESA. This requires

cooperation between, and deference by, sister-state tribunals

in order to avoid issuance of competing support orders. To

this end, tribunals are expected to take an active role in

seeking out information about support proceedings in other

States concerning the same child. Depending on the

circumstances, one or the other of two tribunals considering

the same support obligation should decide to defer to the

other. In 1992 UIFSA took a significant departure from the

approach adopted by the UCCJA ("first filing"), by choosing

the "home State of the child" as the primary method for

resolving competing jurisdictional disputes, thereby adopting

the choice of the federal PARENTAL KIDNAPPING PREVENTION ACT,

28 U.S.C. 1238A Section (C). Given the pre-emptive nature of

the PKPA, and the possibility that custody and support will

both be involved in some cases, the PKPA/UIFSA choice for

resolving disputes between competing jurisdictional assertions

was followed in 1997 by the decision of the Conference to

replace the UCCJA with the UCCJEA. If the child has no home

State, however, "first filing" will continue to control.

§2965.__Continuing, exclusive jurisdiction to modify child

support order

1.__Tribunal has continuing, exclusive jurisdiction.__A
tribunal of this State that has issued a support order
consistent with the laws of this State has and shall exercise
continuing, exclusive jurisdiction to modify its child support
order if the order is the controlling order and:

A.__At the time of the filing of a request for
modification this State is the residence of the obligor,
the individual obligee or the child for whose benefit the
support order is issued; or

B.__Even if this State is not the residence of the
obligor, the individual obligee or the child for whose
benefit the support order is issued, the parties consent
in a record or in open court that the tribunal of this
State may continue to exercise jurisdiction to modify its
order.

2.__Tribunal may not exercise continuing, exclusive
jurisdiction.__A tribunal of this State that has issued a
child support order consistent with the laws of this State may
not exercise its continuing, exclusive jurisdiction to modify
the
order if:

A.__All of the parties who are individuals file consent in a
record with the tribunal of this State that a tribunal of

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