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The Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA) is a law that helps parents get child support from a former spouse who lives in another state. It makes sure that all states recognize and enforce support orders issued in other states. Before this law, each state had different rules for handling child support cases that crossed state lines. The UIFSA makes it easier, fairer, and more efficient for parents to get the support they need for their children.
The Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA) is a model statute that was established in 1992. Its purpose is to create a system where an alimony or child-support decree issued by one state can be enforced against a former spouse who resides in another state. This act has been adopted in every state and is the basis of jurisdiction in child-support suits.
The main goal of the UIFSA is to make the pursuit of interstate child support and paternity more effective, consistent, and efficient. It requires all states to consistently recognize and enforce support orders issued in other states. Before its enactment, there was considerable disparity among the states in the way they handled interstate child-support proceedings, since each state had differing versions of the earlier uniform law, the Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act.
For example, if a parent who owes child support moves from California to Texas, the UIFSA allows the California court to enforce the child support order in Texas. This means that the parent cannot avoid paying child support simply by moving to another state.
The Act was revised in 1996 to further improve the enforcement of child support orders across state lines.
Uniform Health-Care Decision Act | Uniform Interstate Juvenile Compact