I do not have any child support order filed anywhere, but am seeking to file for support for my three boys. I live out of state and my ex lives in North Carolina. I have received conflicting information regarding where to file for support. The state I live in says I have to file in North Carolina and North Carolina agency says I have to file in the state I live in.
Would I really have to fly to NC to file for support in the County where my ex lives? With minimal support, traveling to NC would be an extreme hardship. Please advise.
I am not a lawyer, but I have already heard that an action for child support is proper in the state in which the payor resides.
The Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA) has been adopted by all 50 states. Essentially, it says that the “home state” is the state in which a child lived with a parent for at least six consecutive months immediately preceeding the time of filing a petition for support, and if a child is less than six months old, the state in which the child lived from birth with any of them. You can therefore file for child support in whichever state you are currently living with your children, as long as you have lived there for at least the timeframe described above. The proper jurisdiction for child support is the state where the payor lives, that is NC. You may need a NC attorney to register your order in NC. The best advice I can offer you is to register the order here, which you may able to do through your state’s Child Support Enforcement office instead of a NC attorney. Your support could be filed where you live, and then the Order would be registered in NC for enforcement.