Section 4007.5 Of Article 1. General Provisions From California Family Law Code >> Division 9. >> Part 2. >> Chapter 2. >> Article 1.
4007.5
. (a) Every money judgment or order for support of a child
shall be suspended, by operation of law, for any period exceeding 90
consecutive days in which the person ordered to pay support is
incarcerated or involuntarily institutionalized, unless either of the
following conditions exist:
(1) The person owing support has the means to pay support while
incarcerated or involuntarily institutionalized.
(2) The person owing support was incarcerated or involuntarily
institutionalized for an offense constituting domestic violence, as
defined in Section 6211, against the supported party or supported
child, or for an offense that could be enjoined by a protective order
pursuant to Section 6320, or as a result of his or her failure to
comply with a court order to pay child support.
(b) The child support obligation shall resume on the first day of
the first full month after the release of the person owing support in
the amount previously ordered, and that amount is presumed to be
appropriate under federal and state law. This section does not
preclude a person owing support from seeking a modification of the
child support order pursuant to Section 3651, based on a change in
circumstances or other appropriate reason.
(c) (1) A local child support agency enforcing a child support
order under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 651
et seq.) may, upon written notice of the proposed adjustment to the
support obligor and obligee along with a blank form provided for the
support obligor or obligee to object to the administrative adjustment
to the local child support agency, administratively adjust account
balances for a money judgment or order for support of a child
suspended pursuant to subdivision (a) if all of the following occurs:
(A) The agency verifies that arrears and interest were accrued in
violation of this section.
(B) The agency verifies that neither of the conditions set forth
in paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (a) exist.
(C) Neither the support obligor nor obligee objects, within 30
days of receipt of the notice of proposed adjustment, whether in
writing or by telephone, to the administrative adjustment by the
local child support agency.
(2) If either the support obligor or obligee objects to the
administrative adjustment set forth in this subdivision, the agency
shall not adjust the order, but shall file a motion with the court to
seek to adjust the arrears and shall serve copies of the motion on
the parties, who may file an objection to the agency's motion with
the court. The obligor's arrears shall not be adjusted unless the
court approves the adjustment.
(3) The agency may perform this adjustment without regard to
whether it was enforcing the child support order at the time the
parent owing support qualified for relief under this section.
(d) This section does not prohibit the local child support agency
or a party from petitioning a court for a determination of child
support or arrears amounts.
(e) For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall
apply:
(1) "Incarcerated or involuntarily institutionalized" includes,
but is not limited to, involuntary confinement to the state prison, a
county jail, a juvenile facility operated by the Division of
Juvenile Facilities in the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation, or a mental health facility.
(2) "Suspend" means that the payment due on the current child
support order, an arrears payment on a preexisting arrears balance,
or interest on arrears created during a qualifying period of
incarceration pursuant to this section is, by operation of law, set
to zero dollars ($0) for the period in which the person owing support
is incarcerated or involuntarily institutionalized.
(f) This section applies to every money judgment or child support
order issued or modified on or after the enactment of this section.
(g) The Department of Child Support Services shall, by January 1,
2016, and in consultation with the Judicial Council, develop forms to
implement this section.
(h) On or before January 1, 2019, the Department of Child Support
Services and the Judicial Council shall conduct an evaluation of the
effectiveness of the administrative adjustment process authorized by
this section and shall report the results of the review, as well as
any recommended changes, to the Assembly Judiciary Committee and the
Senate Judiciary Committee. The evaluation shall include a review of
the ease of the process to both the obligor and obligee, as well as
an analysis of the number of cases administratively adjusted, the
number of cases adjusted in court, and the number of cases not
adjusted.
(i) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2020, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2020, deletes or extends
that date.