Introduced By: Representative Senator Eleanor C. Sasso
Date Introduced : June 16, 1998 February 10, 1998
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 15-5-16.2 of the General Laws in Chapter 15-5 entitled "Divorce and Separation" is hereby amended to read as follows:
15-5-16.2. Child support. -- (a) In a proceeding for divorce, divorce from bed and board, a miscellaneous petition without the filing of divorce proceedings, or child support, the court shall order either or both parents owing a duty of support to a child to pay an amount based upon a formula and guidelines adopted by an administrative order of the family court. If, after calculating support based upon court established formula and guidelines, the court, in its discretion, finds the order would be inequitable to the child or either parent, the court shall make findings of fact and shall order either or both parents owing a duty of support to pay an amount reasonable or necessary for the child's support after considering all relevant factors including, but not limited to:
(1) The financial resources of the child;
(2) The financial resources of the custodial parent;
(3) The standard of living the child would have enjoyed had the marriage not been dissolved;
(4) The physical and emotional condition of the child and his educational needs; and
(5) The financial resources and needs of the non-custodial parent.
(b) The court may, if in its discretion it deems it necessary or advisable, order child support and education costs for children attending high school at the time of their eighteenth birthday and for ninety (90) days after graduation, but in no case beyond their nineteenth birthday. {ADD In addition, the court may order child support to continue, in the case of a child with a severe physical or mental impairment, until the twenty-first (21st) birthday of the child. ADD}
(c) The court may, if in its discretion it deems it necessary or advisable, appoint an attorney or a guardian ad litem to represent the interest of a minor or dependent child with respect to his or her support, custody, and visitation. The court shall enter an order for costs, fees, and disbursements in favor of the child's attorney. The order shall be made against either or both parents. After a decree for support has been entered, the court may from time to time upon the petition of either party review and alter its decree relative to the amount of support and the payment thereof, and may make any decree relative thereto which it might have made in the original suit. The decree may be made retroactive in the court's discretion only to the date that notice of a petition to modify was given to the adverse party if the court finds that a substantial change in circumstances has occurred; provided however, the court shall set forth in its decision the specific findings of fact which show a substantial change in circumstances and upon which findings of facts the court has decided to make the decree retroactive.
(d) (1) In a proceeding to enforce a child support order, or a spousal support order for a custodial parent having custody of a minor child, the court or its master may assign to the obligee such tangible personal property of the obligor as will be sufficient to satisfy the child or spousal support arrearage owed. The court or its master, after hearing, shall establish the amount of the child or spousal support arrearage, and the nature and value of the tangible personal property. To effect the assignment, the court or its master may order the obligor to execute and deliver the documents of title which may be necessary to complete the transfer of title to the property, and may order the obligor to deliver possession of the property to the obligee. Whenever the obligor fails to comply with the order assigning the property, the order of assignment shall be regarded as a judgment vesting title to the property in the obligor as fully and completely as if the obligor had executed and delivered the documents of title.
(2) Any order for child support issued by the family court shall contain a provision requiring either or both parents owing a duty of support to a child to obtain health insurance coverage for the child when coverage is available to the parent or parents through their employment without cost or at a reasonable cost. Any existing child support orders may be modified in accordance with the provisions of this subsection unless the court makes specific written findings of fact that take into consideration the best interests of the child and conclude that such an order would be unjust or inappropriate in a particular case.
(e) In a proceeding to establish paternity or support, the court in its discretion may, after opportunity for hearing, issue a temporary order for child support payable into the registry of the court and to be held pending entry of judgment. In the event of a final adjudication requiring no payment or payments in an amount less than those payments which have been made pursuant to a temporary order under this section, the defendant shall be entitled to a refund of all or a portion of the amounts so paid.
(f) In any proceeding to establish support for a child or children receiving public assistance pursuant to chapter 5.1 of title 40, the court or its master, upon a finding that an able bodied absent parent is unemployed, underemployed or otherwise lacks sufficient income or resources from which to make payment of support equal to the public assistance payment for the child or children, shall order such parent to perform unpaid community service for at least twenty (20) hours per week through community service placements arranged and supervised by the department of human services and/or the division of taxation within the department of administration.
(g) In any proceeding to establish support for a minor child whose adjudicated parent is a minor (minor-parent), the court or its master may order a grandparent of the minor child to reimburse the department of human services in an amount not to exceed the total amount of cash assistance benefits paid to or for the minor child pursuant to chapter 5.1 of title 40 until such minor-parent reaches the age of eighteen (18), less any payment made to the department by such minor parent.
It is hereby declared that the obligation of reimbursement for such minor child shall be the joint and several responsibility of the minor parent and the grandparent(s) until the minor parent reaches the age of eighteen (18) and provided, however, that each joint obligor shall have a right of contribution against each joint obligor, which right shall be enforceable by an action in the family court.
(h) All support orders established or modified in the state on or after October 1, 1998, shall be recorded with the Rhode Island family court/department of administration, division of taxation child support computer enforcement system which maintains the official registry of support orders entered thereon in accordance with applicable administrative orders issued by the Rhode Island family court. The support order shall be recorded whether or not services are being provided under the IV-D state plan.
Each party to a paternity or child support proceeding shall be required to file with the family court, upon the entry of the order, the appropriate form as provided by family court which includes the full name of the parties, residential and mailing address, telephone number, drivers license number, social security number and the name, address and telephone number of the employer. The form shall also include the full order amount and date and amount of arrearages if any, the name of the child(ren), their date of birth, address and social security number and any other information as required by administrative order.
Thereafter, each party is required to file an amended form whenever any of the information contained on the original form has been changed in any way, within ten (10) days of the change. The information shall be entered in the child support enforcement computer system within five (5) business days of receipt of the amended form.
In any subsequent child support enforcement action between the parties, upon sufficient showing that diligent effort has been made to ascertain the location of such a party, the court may deem state due process requirements for notice and service of process to be met with respect to the party, upon service by first class mail or, where appropriate, by service as specified in the Rhode Island rules of procedure for domestic relations for the Family Court of Rhode Island, of written notice to the most recent residential or employer address of record.
[See section 12-1-15 of the General Laws.]
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
