New York State Assembly

 
•  Summary 
 
•  Actions 
 
•  Floor Votes 
 
•  Memo 
 
•  Text 

A09464 Summary:

A09464 Actions:

A09464 Floor Votes:

A09464 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          9464
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                       May 1, 2014
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  M. of A. BARRETT, WEINSTEIN -- (at request of the Office
          of Court Administration) -- read once and referred to the Committee on
          Judiciary
 
        AN ACT to amend the family court act, in  relation  to  applications  to
          modify orders of child support in the family court
 
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

 
     1    Section 1. Section 451 of the family court act, as amended by  chapter
     2  182 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows:
     3    §  451.  Continuing  jurisdiction.  1.  Except  as provided in article
     4  five-B of this act, the  court  has  continuing  jurisdiction  over  any
     5  support  proceeding  brought  under  this  article until its judgment is
     6  completely satisfied and may modify,  set  aside  or  vacate  any  order
     7  issued  in  the  course  of  the proceeding, provided, however, that the
     8  modification, set aside or vacatur  shall  not  reduce  or  annul  child
     9  support  arrears  accrued prior to the making of an application pursuant
    10  to this section. The court shall not reduce or annul any  other  arrears
    11  unless  the defaulting party shows good cause for failure to make appli-
    12  cation for relief from the judgment or order directing payment prior  to

    13  the  accrual  of  the arrears, in which case the facts and circumstances
    14  constituting such good cause shall be set forth in a written  memorandum
    15  of  decision. A modification may increase support payments nunc pro tunc
    16  as of the date of the initial application for  support  based  on  newly
    17  discovered evidence. Any retroactive amount of support due shall be paid
    18  and  be  enforceable  as  provided in section four hundred forty of this
    19  article. Upon an application to [modify,] set aside or vacate  an  order
    20  of  support,  no hearing shall be required unless such application shall
    21  be supported by affidavit and other evidentiary material  sufficient  to
    22  establish a prima facie case for the relief requested.
    23    2.  A  proceeding  to modify an order of support shall be commenced by
    24  the filing of a petition which shall allege facts sufficient to meet one

    25  or more of the grounds enumerated in subdivision three of this section.
    26    3. (a) The court may modify an order of child  support,  including  an
    27  order  incorporating  without merging an agreement or stipulation of the
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD13719-02-4
        A. 9464                             2
 
     1  parties, upon a  showing  of  a  substantial  change  in  circumstances.
     2  Incarceration  shall  not  be  a  bar to finding a substantial change in
     3  circumstances provided such incarceration is not the result of  non-pay-
     4  ment  of  a  child  support  order,  or an offense against the custodial

     5  parent or child who is the subject of the order or judgment.
     6    (b) In addition, unless the parties have specifically opted out of the
     7  following provisions in a  validly  executed  agreement  or  stipulation
     8  entered into between the parties, the court may modify an order of child
     9  support where:
    10    (i) three years have passed since the order was entered, last modified
    11  or adjusted; or
    12    (ii) there has been a change in either party's gross income by fifteen
    13  percent or more since the order was entered, last modified, or adjusted.
    14  A  reduction in income shall not be considered as a ground for modifica-
    15  tion unless it was involuntary and the party has made diligent  attempts
    16  to  secure  employment  commensurate with his or her education, ability,
    17  and experience.
    18    § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
    19  have become a law.