(This is Section 311 of the Uniform Act.)

This section establishes the basic requirements for drafting and filing interstate pleadings. Subsection (a) should be read in conjunction with Section 312, which provides for the confidentiality of certain information if disclosure is likely to result in harm to a party or a child. The 2001 amendments are directed at improving the efficiency of the process. Illustrative of that goal is the requirement that all known support orders be attached to the petition for relief, coupled with the elimination of the requirement that such copies be certified. If a dispute arises over the authenticity of a purported order, the tribunal must, of necessity, sort out conflicting claims at that time. Another improvement is the deletion of the requirement for verified pleadings originated in URESA and carried forward in the original version of UIFSA.

Subsection (b) provides authorization for the use of the federally authorized forms promulgated in connection with the IV-D child support enforcement program and mandates substantial compliance with those forms. Although the use of other forms is not prohibited, standardized documents have resulted in substantial improvement in the efficient processing of UIFSA proceedings.

Sec. 22. 19-A MRSA §3012, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, §2 and affected by Pt. E, §2, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:

§3012.__Nondisclosure of information in exceptional circumstances

If a party alleges in an affidavit or a pleading under oath that the health, safety or liberty of a party or child would be jeopardized by disclosure of specific identifying information, that information must be sealed and may not be disclosed to the other party or the public. After a hearing in which a tribunal takes into consideration the health, safety or liberty of the party or child, the tribunal may order disclosure of information that the tribunal determines to be in the interest of justice.

Uniform Comment

(This is Section 312 of the Uniform Act.)

Derived from the UNIFORM CHILD CUSTODY JURISDICTION AND ENFORCEMENT ACT, Section 209. Information To Be Submitted to Court. This section is the latest version of the statutory formulation originally developed in UIFSA 1992. Public awareness