Title 9 — Family Law

(a) Any person who establishes or acquires a marital domicile in this state, who contracts marriage in this state, or who becomes a resident of this state while legally married, and subsequently absents himself or herself from the state leaving a dependent natural or adopted chil…

(a) As used in this section:(1) “Political subdivision thereof” means all cities of the first class, cities of the second class, incorporated towns and counties and their agencies, boards, commissions, institutions and other instrumentalities, and school districts; and(2) “State …

(a) (1) (A) Upon application of any interested person to any judge of any court of record having jurisdiction of the cause of action, the court may require any person receiving as guardian of the person, either by adoption of law or order of any court, any funds, moneys, credits,…

A.C.A. § 9-14-104Current through all legislation of the 2025 Regular Session.Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated Official EditionCopyright © 2026 by the State of Arkansas All rights reserved

(a) The circuit courts in the several counties in this state shall have exclusive jurisdiction in all civil cases and matters relating to the support of a minor child or support owed to a person eighteen (18) years of age or older that accrued during that person's minority. (b) T…

(a) (1) (A) In determining a reasonable amount of support initially or upon review to be paid by a parent, the court shall refer to the most recent revision of the family support chart.(B) It shall be a rebuttable presumption for the award of child support that the amount contain…

(a) (1) A change in the gross income of the payor or payee parent in an amount equal to or more than twenty percent (20%) shall constitute a material change of circumstances sufficient to petition the court for modification of child support.(2) (A) (i) Any time a court orders chi…

(a) (1) The court where the final adjudication of child support is rendered shall retain jurisdiction of all matters following the entry of the decree.(2) If more than six (6) months subsequent to the final adjudication, however, each of the parties to the action has established …

(a) By accepting public assistance for or on behalf of a dependent child, which public assistance is provided by the Department of Human Services under the Transitional Employment Assistance Program, i.e., Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program, the recipient thereof sha…

(a) As used in this section, “child support order” means a judgment, decree, or order, whether temporary, final, or subject to modification, issued by a court or an administrative agency of competent jurisdiction, for the support and maintenance of a child, including a child who …

(1) As used in this Code:(1) (A) “Accrued arrearage” means a delinquency that is past due and unpaid and owed under a court order or an order of an administrative process established under state law for support of any child or children.(B) “Accrued arrearage” may include past due…

The remedies provided in this subchapter shall not be exclusive of other remedies presently existing.

A.C.A. § 9-14-203Current through all legislation of the 2025 Regular Session.Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated Official EditionCopyright © 2026 by the State of Arkansas All rights reserved

(a) (1) Hearings in all child support cases and paternity cases brought pursuant to Title IV-D of the Social Security Act shall be heard within a reasonable period of time following service of process in each county in the state as defined in this section.(2) In each of the seven…

(a) In all cases in which the support and care of any child or children are involved, it shall be the duty of the plaintiff, defendant, payee parent or physical custodian of the child, and the payor parent to keep the clerk of the circuit court informed of his or her current addr…

(a) There is established an organizational unit to be called the Office of Child Support Enforcement of the Revenue Division of the Department of Finance and Administration that shall administer the state plan for child support enforcement required under Title IV-D of the Social …

(a) The Administrator of the Office of Child Support Enforcement of the Revenue Division of the Department of Finance and Administration is authorized to enter into cooperative agreements with county judges, court clerks, and prosecuting attorneys concerning the establishment, en…

(a) As used in this section:(1) “Business” means any corporation, partnership, cable television company, association, individual, utility company that is organized privately, as a cooperative, or as a quasi-public entity, or labor or other organization maintaining an office, doin…

(a) (1) As used in this section, “consumer reporting agency” means any person who, for monetary fees, dues, or on a cooperative, nonprofit basis regularly engages, in whole or in part, in the practice of assembling or evaluating consumer credit information or other information on…

(a) The Department of Human Services or the Office of Child Support Enforcement of the Revenue Division of the Department of Finance and Administration, or both, shall employ attorneys to assist in the establishment and enforcement of support orders in the State of Arkansas. (b) …

(a) Support rights assigned to the Department of Human Services under § 9-14-109 shall constitute an obligation owed to the State of Arkansas by the person responsible for providing the support, and the obligation shall be collectible under all legal processes. (b) The amount of …

(a) The Office of Child Support Enforcement of the Revenue Division of the Department of Finance and Administration may charge a nonrefundable application fee of up to twenty-five dollars ($25.00) to any person who contracts with the office for any services under Title IV-D of th…

(a) (1) When a court has ordered support payments to be paid to or by a payor parent, payee parent, or physical custodian of a child who is receiving assistance under the Transitional Employment Assistance Program, Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or the F…

(a) In any action brought on behalf of a person to whom a support obligation is owed under an assignment pursuant to § 9-14-109 or pursuant to a contract for services under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act, the Office of Child Support Enforcement of the Revenue Division of t…

(a) (1) There shall be no filing fee, service fee, or other costs collected from the Office of Child Support Enforcement of the Revenue Division of the Department of Finance and Administration or any attorney acting on its behalf for actions brought under the Uniform Interstate F…

(a) (1) The Office of Child Support Enforcement of the Revenue Division of the Department of Finance and Administration shall establish and maintain a system to promptly implement income withholding for support orders issued in other states.(2) The office shall also seek assistan…

The income withholding provisions of this subchapter shall supersede the provisions of § 9-14-102 when applicable.

(a) (1) In all decrees or orders that provide for the payment of money for the support and care of any children, the court shall include a provision directing a payor to deduct from:(A) Money, income, or periodic earnings due the noncustodial parent an amount that is sufficient t…

Orders of income withholding for support shall have priority over all other legal processes under state law against the money, income, or periodic earnings of the noncustodial parent.

(a) All persons under court order to pay support on August 1, 1985, who become delinquent in an amount equal to the total court-ordered support payable for thirty (30) days shall be subject to the income withholding provisions of this subchapter. An order of income withholding sh…

(a) Orders of income withholding that were not effective immediately by order of the court, upon the consent of the noncustodial parent, or at the request of the custodial parent, shall become effective when payment arrearages owed by the noncustodial parent equal the total court…

(a) A payor shall be notified of an order of income withholding by a notice as set forth in this section. (b) (1) The order and notice of income withholding may be served on the payor by first class mail.(2) If the payor does not remit the wage withholding in accordance with subd…

Upon receipt of an objection from a payor under an order of income withholding, the court or its representative shall expeditiously determine whether the payor shall be relieved under the order and shall so inform the payor within ten (10) days of receipt of the objection by a no…

(a) A payor who has been notified of an order of income withholding shall be bound by the order until further notice by the court or its representative. (b) (1) A payor who is an employer that withholds support payments from more than one (1) employee shall have the option to per…

(a) A payor who has been notified of an order of income withholding shall be liable for any amount up to the accumulated amount that should have been withheld should he or she fail or refuse to withhold the income in accordance with the notice. (b) Once money has been withheld, e…

(a) A payor who is an employer is prohibited from discharging, refusing to employ, or taking other disciplinary action against a noncustodial parent under an income withholding order. (b) Any employer violating this subchapter shall be subject to the contempt powers of the court …

(a) A payor may withhold up to two dollars and fifty cents ($2.50) per pay period in addition to the court-ordered income withholding amount for the administrative cost incurred in each withholding. (b) The income withholding provisions of this subchapter shall apply to unemploym…

(a) (1) A payor shall withhold the amount indicated in the notice from money, income, or periodic earnings due the noncustodial parent and remit the amount in the manner set forth in the notice.(2) Payments are to be made at the same time the noncustodial parent is paid. The payo…

(a) The circuit court may terminate an income withholding order upon proof that the court or its representative has been unable to deliver payments to the custodial parent for a period of six (6) months. (b) An income withholding order shall terminate when there is no further sup…

(a) (1) (A) Any decree, judgment, or order that contains a provision for payment of money for the support and care of any child or children through the registry of the court or through the Arkansas Child Support Clearinghouse shall become a lien upon all real property, not otherw…

(a) (1) (A) Support that has been ordered paid through the registry of the court or through the Arkansas Child Support Clearinghouse and that has become overdue shall become a lien on all personal property owned by the noncustodial parent wherever it may be found and need not be …

(a) In all cases in which the support and care of any children are involved, the court may:(1) Order either parent to secure and maintain healthcare coverage for the benefit of the children when healthcare coverage is available or becomes available to the parent at a reasonable c…

(a) All child support that becomes due and remains unpaid shall accrue interest at the rate of ten percent (10%) per annum unless the owner of the judgment or the owner's counsel of record requests prior to the accrual of the interest that the judgment shall not accrue interest. …

(a) As used in this section, “physical custodian” means a natural or adoptive parent, a guardian, or a person or agency who has or is anticipated to have custody of a child or children for more than eight (8) consecutive weeks, other than court-ordered visitation, during which th…

(a) If a child support arrearage or judgment exists at the time when any child entitled to support reaches the age of majority, is emancipated, or dies, or when the obligor's current duty to pay child support otherwise ceases, the obligor shall continue to pay an amount equal to …

(a) As used in this section:(1) “Accrued child support arrearages” means a delinquency owed under a court order or an order of an administrative process established under state law for support of any child or children that is past due and unpaid;(2) “Action” means any complaint, …

(a) (1) Unless a court order for child support specifically extends child support after these circumstances, a payor parent's duty to pay child support for a child shall automatically terminate by operation of law:(A) When the child reaches eighteen (18) years of age unless the c…

(a) The Administrator of the Office of Child Support Enforcement of the Revenue Division of the Department of Finance and Administration is authorized to enter into professional service contracts with private individuals or businesses and public agencies concerning the establishm…

(a) As used in this section:(1) “Department” means the Department of Finance and Administration or its duly authorized agents;(2) “License” means an Arkansas driver's license issued pursuant to the Motor Vehicle Driver’s License Act, § 27-16-101 et seq., and § 27-20-101 et seq., …

(a) (1) Income withholding for child support shall terminate by operation of law when one (1) of the conditions set out in § 9-14-237(a) is met.(2) However, in no event shall income withholding for child support terminate:(A) When a current child support obligation exists; or(B) …