Title 8, Family Law & Probate

Content of Support Orders. (a) All support orders shall provide for income withholding, unless a written agreement is reached between and signed by both parties providing for an alternative arrangement, approved and entered into the record by the tribunal, which ensure payment of…

Copies of Order. At the time the order for support is entered, the Clerk of the Court shall provide a copy of the order to the obligor and shall make copies available to the obligee and the public office. Source: PL 14-34, § 9; redesignated by PL 20-22 § 5 (Oct. 6, 2017). In codi…

Contents of Income Withholding Order. The Income Withholding Order shall contain the following: (a) The title and docket number of the suit; (b) The name of the obligee; (c) The name of the obligor and the obligor’s Social Security Number, which the obligor shall disclose to the …

Content of Income Withholding Notice. The income withholding notice shall: (a) Be in the standard format prescribed by the United States Department of Health and Human Services; and (b) State the date of entry of the order for support upon which the income withholding notice is b…

Service of Income Withholding Notice. (a) The accrual of a delinquency as a condition for service of an income withholding notice, as provided for under the exception to immediate withholding in 8 CMC § 19105(a), shall apply only to the initial service of an income withholding no…

Response and Duties of the Payor. (a) A payor upon whom service of an income withholding order or notice has been made shall answer the order by sworn affidavit within twenty days after the date of service. The answer shall state whether the obligor is employed by or receiving in…

Priority of Income Withholding for Support. Withholding of income under this Article shall have priority over any prior or subsequent garnishments, attachments, wage assignments, any other claims of creditors, or other legal process. Source: PL 14-34, § 14; redesignated by PL 20-…

Maximum Amount to be Withheld from Obligor’s Income; Priority of Payments on a Single Income Withholding Order. Withholding of income under this Article shall not be in excess of the maximum amounts permitted under the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act, or fifty percent of t…

Other Limits or Exemptions on Withholding of Income. Any other CNMI law that limit or exempt income or the amount or percentage of income that can be withheld shall not apply when income is withheld for payment of a support order. Source: PL 14-34, § 4; redesignated by PL 20-22 §…

Apportionment of Disbursements. If an obligor is subject to two or more income withholding notices on account of different obligees, the employer shall, if the disposable income is not sufficient to respond fully to all the notices, apportion the obligor’s disposable income betwe…

Payor Protection from Civil Liability. A payor who complies with an income withholding notice that is regular on its face shall not be subject to civil liability with respect to any individual, any agency, or any creditor of the obligor for conduct in compliance with the notice. …

Termination of Income Withholding Order by Payor. Whenever the obligor is no longer receiving income from the payor, the payor shall return a copy of the income withholding notice to the obligee or public office and shall provide information for the purpose of enforcing this Arti…

Prohibition of Penalties Against Obligor Imposed by Payor. No payor shall discharge, discipline, refuse to hire or otherwise penalize any obligor because of the duty to withhold income or because of any obligation such income withholding imposes against the employer. Any employer…

Penalties. (a) Where a payor willfully fails to withhold or pay over income pursuant to a properly served income withholding notice, or willfully discharges, disciplines, refuses to hire or otherwise penalizes an obligor as prohibited by 8 CMC § 19117, or otherwise fails to compl…

Additional Duties. (a) An obligee who is receiving income withholding payments under this Article shall notify the CNMI Support Disbursement Unit and the Clerk of the Superior Court of any change of address within seven days of such change. (b) An obligee who is a recipient of pu…

Contest of Income Withholding Orders. (a) The only basis for contesting an order for income withholding shall be a mistake of fact in the amount of current or overdue support or the identity of the obligor. (b) An obligor shall be entitled to a hearing on any such order on ten wo…

Petitions to Contest Withholding or to Modify, Suspend, Terminate, or Correct Income Withholding Notices Registered in the CNMI. (a) When an obligor files a petition to contest withholding, the tribunal, after due notice to all parties, shall hear the matter as soon as practicabl…

Remedies Additional to Those Now Existing. The remedies provided in this Article are in addition to, and not in substitution for, any other remedy otherwise available to enforce a support order of this or another jurisdiction. Relief under this Act shall not be denied, delayed, o…

Definitions. As used in this Article: (a) Administrative hearing means a hearing conducted in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, 1 CMC §§ 9101–9115. (b) Compliance with an order of support means the total of a non-custodial parent’s overdue and unpaid court ordered…

Notice of Proposed Action. (a) If a non-custodial parent is in non-compliance with a court order of support, the Office may serve the non-custodial parent with a notice of proposed action indicating its intention to certify to a licensing body that has issued a license to the non…

Stay of Action. (a) If the non-custodial parent petitions for an administrative hearing within twenty (20) days of service of the notice of proposed action, the Office shall stay action to certify the non-custodial parent to any licensing body for noncompliance with a court order…

Petition for Administrative Hearing. (a) A non-custodial parent may file a petition for an administrative hearing after being served the notice of proposed action. (b) Upon receipt of the petition for hearing the Office acquires jurisdiction of the non-custodial parent for purpos…

Administrative Hearing. (a) An Administrative Hearing Officer shall conduct a hearing petitioned for by the non-custodial parent pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act, 1 CMC §§ 9101–9115. Issues that may be decided at the hearing shall be limited to whether: (1) the non-cu…

Decision After Hearing. (a) The hearing officer shall issue a decision after hearing without undue delay. The decision must be based on the hearing record only. (b) The Office shall personally serve or send a copy of the decision to the noncustodial parent by certified mail, retu…

Judicial Review. A non-custodial parent may appeal in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, 1 CMC §§ 9101–9115, the hearing officer’s decision with respect to whether the non-custodial parent is obligated under a court order of support to pay child support or whether …

Certification to Licensing Body. (a) The Office shall certify that a non-custodial parent is in non-compliance with a court order of support, and file that certification with a licensing body that has issued the non-custodial parent a license if: (1) the non-custodial parent has …

Compliance; How Obtained. A non-custodial parent may come into compliance by paying off the arrearage, or by obtaining an order establishing periodic payment on the arrears for which no payment has been ordered thereon, or by obtaining an order modifying an existing order for pay…

Written Confirmation of Compliance. If a non-custodial parent who is served with a notice of proposed action or is certified to a licensing body subsequently comes into compliance with a court order of support, the Office shall provide the non-custodial parent and the licensing b…

Exchange of Information. Within six (6) months of the effective date of this Article, all licensing bodies shall provide, and update quarterly, the Office with information, concerning applicants for licensure and current license holders, on magnetic tape or other machine readable…

Suspension, Non-Issuance and Non-Renewal of Licenses. A licensing body shall suspend the license of a non-custodial parent who has been certified as being in non-compliance with a court order of support, and may not issue or renew the license of a non-custodial parent who has bee…

Notice from Licensing Body. A licensing body shall notify a non-custodial parent certified by the Office to be in non-compliance at least ten (10) days prior to denial or suspension, that the non-custodial parent’s application for issuance or renewal of a license will not be gran…

Subsequent Re-Issuance, Renewal or Other Extension of License. After receipt of written confirmation of compliance from the Office, a licensing body shall, within five (5) working days, reissue, renew, or otherwise extend a license against which action had been taken for non-comp…

Claim of Special Need. A non-custodial parent whose vehicle operator’s license is suspended for noncompliance with a court order of support may request the Office to issue a written statement that permits the Commissioner of the Department of Public Safety to issue a temporary li…

Assistance to Unrepresented Persons. The Commonwealth Superior Court shall make available to non-custodial parents who are not represented by an attorney, forms which would enable such non-custodial parents to make handwritten applications for reduction of their arrearages to jud…

Failure to Comply with Warrants and Subpoenas. The failure of a non-custodial parent to comply with any warrant or subpoena issued relating to paternity or to any other child support proceeding shall also result in the suspension, non-issuance, or nonrenewal of a noncustodial par…

Definitions. As used in this Article: (a) “Date of hiring” means the earlier of: (1) the first day for which an employee is owed compensation by an employer; or (2) the first day that an employee reports to work or performs labor or services for an employer. (b) “Earnings” means …

Directory of New Hires Established. There is established, within the Office of the Attorney General, Child Support Enforcement Office, a Directory of New Hires for the purpose of receiving information supplied by employers on newly hired, rehired, or returned to work employees wh…

Duty of Employers to Report. (a) An employer shall report to the Director of New Hires whenever that employer hires or rehires an employee, or an employee who returns to work in the CNMI. Employers shall submit reports required under this subsection within 20 calendar days of the…

Penalty for Failure to Report. (a) An employer who: (1) fails to file reports as required by this Article, and has not previously received a written notice of non-compliance, shall receive written notice of non-compliance; (2) fails to file reports as required by this Article and…

Means to Report. (a) Employers may report by delivering or mailing a copy of the employee’s W-4 form or W-9 form or any other document that contains the required information, transmitting the required information by electronic or magnetic means in a compatible format that will re…

Information Required to be Reported and Multi-State Employers. (a) Reports required under 8 CMC § 19303 must contain: (1) the employee’s name, address, social security number, date of birth when available, and the date services for remuneration were first performed by the employe…

Access to and Disposition of Information. (a) The Director of New Hires shall ensure that information received from an employer pursuant to this Article will be entered into the Directory of New Hires within five business days of receipt. Within three business days after entry in…

Government of CNMI to Report Hiring of Independent Contractors. The Government of the CNMI, when acting in the capacity of contractee, shall report the execution of a contract with any person as an independent contractor to the Director of New Hires in the same manner as the hiri…

Comparison of Information and Notice of Match. (a) As soon as practicable after the enactment of this section, the Office shall, either directly or by contract, conduct automated comparisons of the social security numbers reported by employers pursuant to this Article and the soc…