Title 16 — Domestic Relations
11 chapters · 258 sections in this title.
16 V.I.C. § 341 Definitions
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(a) The following words and phrases when used in this title shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:(a) “arrearages,” “arrears,” or “overdue support” means the amount of delinquency pursuant to an obligation det…
16 V.I.C. § 342 Persons obligated to support
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(a) The following are obliged to support each other—(1) husband and wife;(2) legitimate ascendants and descendants up to 18 years of age;(3) parents and children and the legitimate descendants of the latter up to 18 years of age;(4) the adopter and the person adopted; and(5) pare…
16 V.I.C. § 343 Order of duty between two or more persons liable for support
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(1) A claim for support, when proper and when there are two or more persons who are bound to give it, shall be made in the following order—(1) to the husband or wife;(2) to the nearest descendants;(3) to the nearest ascendants;(4) to brothers or sisters. (1) to the husband or wif…
16 V.I.C. § 344 Apportionment of support between two or more obligors
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(a) When the obligation to support devolves upon two or more persons, the amount that each shall pay shall be proportioned to his respective estate. Nevertheless in cases of urgent necessity and under special circumstances, the judge may order one of them to provisionally provide…
16 V.I.C. § 345 Determining amount of support
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(a) The amount provided for support, except for the support due to or on behalf of a child or children, shall be proportioned to the resources of the person giving such support and to the necessities of the party receiving it, and shall be reduced or increased in proportion to th…
16 V.I.C. § 346 Time obligation arises
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The obligation to support may be claimed from the time the person having a right thereto shall require such support, but it shall not begin until the date on which a petition therefor is made.
16 V.I.C. § 347 Manner of payments
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Payments for support shall be made monthly, in advance, and when the person receiving the same dies, his heirs shall not be required to repay any sum that may have been paid in advance.
16 V.I.C. § 348 Manner of support
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The person obliged to render support may either pay the amount required to be paid or receive and maintain in his own dwelling the person having a right to such support.
16 V.I.C. § 349 Effect of obligor's death
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The obligation to give support ceases with the death of the person obliged to give it, even when given in fulfilment of a final judgment.
16 V.I.C. § 350 Transfer of right; set-off
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(a) The right to receive support can not be relinquished or transmitted to a third party; Provided, That in the case of a person who is receiving public assistance in the form of financial aid for dependent children from the Department of Social Welfare or any other governmental …
16 V.I.C. § 351 Time obligation ceases
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(1) The obligation to give support ceases—(1) with the death of the recipient;(2) when the means of the person obliged to give it shall have been reduced so that he cannot do so without disregarding his own needs and those of his family;(3) when the recipient is capable of workin…
16 V.I.C. § 352 Priority of support judgment or order over other obligations; payroll deductions
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(a) A judgment or order entered under this subchapter against any person for the support of a person he or she is found obligated to support pursuant to section 342 of this chapter or pursuant to subchapter 3 of this chapter shall take priority over all other financial obligation…
16 V.I.C. § 353 Immediate income withholding for all orders requiring payment of child support or child support in conjunction with spousal or former spousal support
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(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, every order of child support or child support in conjunction with spousal or former spousal support entered or modified by the Superior Court or an administrative hearing officer shall include a provision that the child su…
16 V.I.C. § 354 Hearing officer
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(a) There shall be appointed by the Governor upon the recommendation of the Attorney General, one (1) or more hearing officers who are by reason of training, education, experience and such other criteria as may be established in writing by the Attorney General qualified to hear a…
16 V.I.C. § 355 Notice for income withholding or income tax refund withholding
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(a) Upon whichever may first occur:(1) the day the obligor fails to make payments under a child support order or an order for child support in conjunction with spousal or former spousal support in an amount equal to the support payable for one (1) month, or(2) the day on which an…
16 V.I.C. § 356 Hearing
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(a) If the obligor wishes to contest income withholding or income tax refund withholding, he or she must notify the Division and the Administration Hearing Office in writing within ten (10) days of the notice provided for in section 355 of this chapter. Failure to inform the Divi…
16 V.I.C. § 357 Notice to employer
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(1) The Division shall send written notice, or, at the discretion of the Division, notice through electronic means, of income withholding to the obligor's employer:(1) within 2 business days after the issuance of an order requiring immediate wage withholding pursuant to section 3…
16 V.I.C. § 358 Employer's obligations
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(1) An employer who receives a notice or order of income withholding as provided in section 357 of this chapter shall:(1) withhold from the obligor's income the amount stated in section 357(2)(a) of this chapter;(2) send this amount to the Child Support Disbursement Unit accordin…
16 V.I.C. § 359 Obligor's obligation to inform about new employment
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Any obligor whose income is subject to an income withholding order or notice must inform the Paternity and Child Support Division if he or she changes employers and must provide the Division with the new employer's name and address within fourteen (14) days of the new employment.
16 V.I.C. § 360 Employer's liability for wrongful retribution
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(a) No employer of a person whose income is subject to an income withholding order may discharge, refuse to employ, or take disciplinary action against such person because of the income withholding order. Any employee who is discharged, denied employment, or disciplined because o…
16 V.I.C. § 361 Employer's liability for failure to withhold
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Any employer that fails to withhold income in accordance with the provisions of a notice that is served on such employer pursuant to section 357 of this chapter is liable for the accumulated amount it should have withheld from the obligor's income, and shall be fined not less tha…
16 V.I.C. § 362 Employer's right to combine payments
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Any employer that is served with a notice issued pursuant to section 357 of this chapter for more than one (1) obligor may combine the withheld amount from all of its employees subject to such notices into a single payment to the Paternity and Child Support Division. The employer…
16 V.I.C. § 363 Support orders issued in other U.S. jurisdictions
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(a) The income withholding system established under this chapter shall include withholding from income derived in this territory where the applicable child support orders were issued in any of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or any oth…
16 V.I.C. § 364 Reduction or termination of income withholding
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(a) When a support arrearage is paid in full, the Paternity and Child Support Division shall notify the obligor's employer. The employer then shall reduce the amount of income withheld to cover only the current support obligation. (b) Once income withholding has been instituted i…
16 V.I.C. § 365 Security requirement
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The court or the hearing officer shall in appropriate cases require a person who has an arrearage or overdue support obligation and who has received the notice specified in section 355 of this chapter to give security, post a bond or give some other guarantee to secure the paymen…
16 V.I.C. § 366 Consumer reporting agency
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(a) The Division shall report, on a quarterly basis, all child support obligors who are delinquent in the payment of child support, in an amount at least equal to the support payable for one month, to consumer reporting agencies doing business in the Virgin Islands. Any report to…
16 V.I.C. § 367 Income tax refund withholding to enforce support
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(a) An income tax refund payable by the Virgin Islands Bureau of Internal Revenue or the U.S. Treasury Department which is otherwise due to a support obligor shall be reduced by the amount of any overdue support obligation owed by the support obligor. (b) The amount by which the …
16 V.I.C. § 368 Child support payments as final judgments; prohibition against retroactive modification
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(a) Any payment or installment of support under any child support order, whether pursuant to a court order or pursuant to an order entered by a hearing officer, shall be a final judgment by operation of law, with the full force and effect of a judgment of the courts of the Virgin…
16 V.I.C. § 369 Review of Title IV-D Agency child support orders
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(a) Every three years, all child support orders to which the Division is a party shall be subject to review, and if appropriate, adjustment, in accordance with a publicly available Review and Adjustment Plan established by the Division. The Review and Adjustment Plan shall take i…
16 V.I.C. § 370 Full faith and credit to paternity determinations
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In establishing or enforcing any duty of support under this chapter, the court and the hearing officer shall give full faith and credit to all paternity determinations of any other state, territory of possession of the United States, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, District of Colum…
16 V.I.C. § 371 Virgin Islands child support case registry
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(a) The Division is designated as the central “State Case Registry” of child support cases in the Virgin Islands. The Division shall use its automated child support enforcement system, known as VIPERS, or any comparable automated system in order to maintain records of:(1) All Tit…
16 V.I.C. § 372 Virgin Islands child support disbursement unit
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(a) The Division is designated as the central “State Disbursement Unit” for the collection and disbursement of all child support payments in the Virgin Islands. Effective on January 1, 1998, all child support obligations, and spousal support obligations ordered in conjunction wit…
16 V.I.C. § 373 Suspension of licenses
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(a) In the event that a child support obligor either:(1) owes overdue child support in the amount of $2,500 or more; or(2) after receiving appropriate notice, fails to comply with subpoenas or warrants relating to paternity or child support proceedings; the Division may, on its o…
16 V.I.C. § 374 Access to locator information from interstate networks
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The Division, and any federal agency authorized to conduct Title IV-D child support enforcement activities, shall have access to any system used by any Virgin Islands government agency or entity to locate an individual for purposes relating to motor vehicles or law enforcement, i…
16 V.I.C. § 375 Recording of Social Security numbers for use in child support enforcement
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(1) In order to facilitate the location of, and enforcement actions against, child support obligors, Virgin Islands government agencies which issue the following licenses, or which maintain records concerning the following matters, shall develop appropriate policies and procedure…
16 V.I.C. § 376 Liens for child support arrearages
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(a) In any case of child support, or spousal support ordered in connection with child support, enforced by the Division, in which overdue support is owed by the obligor who resides or owns property in the Virgin Islands, and notwithstanding any law to the contrary, a lien shall a…
16 V.I.C. § 377 Financial institution data matches
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(a) The Division is hereby authorized and directed to enter into agreements with financial institutions doing business in the Virgin Islands to develop and operate, in coordination with such financial institutions, a data match system, using automated data exchanges to the maximu…
16 V.I.C. § 378 New hire reporting
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(a) An employer who hires or rehires an employee shall send the Department of Labor, not later than 20 days after the date the employer hires or rehires the employee, or on a semimonthly basis of not less than 12 days nor more than 16 days apart if reporting electronically or mag…
16 V.I.C. § 391 Short title
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This subchapter may be cited as the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act.
16 V.I.C. § 392 Definitions; designation of Virgin Islands tribunals and support enforcement agency
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(a) In this subchapter:(1) “Child” means an individual, whether over or under the age of majority, who is or is alleged to be owed a duty of support by the individual’s parent or who is or is alleged to be the beneficiary of a support order directed to the parent.(2) “Child-suppo…
16 V.I.C. § 393 Remedies cumulative
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(a) Remedies provided by this subchapter are cumulative and do not affect the availability of remedies under other law or the recognition of a foreign support order on the basis of comity. (b) This subchapter does not:(1) provide the exclusive method of establishing or enforcing …
16 V.I.C. § 394 Application of subchapter to resident and foreign country and foreign support proceeding
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(a) A tribunal of the Virgin Islands shall apply Articles A through F and, as applicable, Article G, to a support proceeding involving:(1) a foreign support order;(2) a foreign tribunal; or(3) an obligee, obligor, or child residing in a foreign country. (1) a foreign support orde…
16 V.I.C. § 395 Bases for jurisdiction over nonresident
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(a) In a proceeding to establish or enforce a support order or to determine parentage of a child, a tribunal of the Virgin Islands may exercise personal jurisdiction over a nonresident individual or the individual’s guardian or conservator if:(1) the individual is personally serv…
16 V.I.C. § 395a Duration of personal jurisdiction
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Personal jurisdiction acquired by a tribunal of the Virgin Islands in a proceeding under this subchapter or other law of the Virgin Islands relating to a support order continues as long as a tribunal of the Virgin Islands has continuing, exclusive jurisdiction to modify its order…
16 V.I.C. § 395b Initiating and responding to tribunal of the Virgin Islands
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Under this subchapter a tribunal of the Virgin Islands may serve as an initiating tribunal to forward proceedings to a tribunal of another state, and as a responding tribunal for proceedings initiated in another state or a foreign country.
16 V.I.C. § 395c Simultaneous proceedings
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(a) A tribunal of the Virgin Islands may exercise jurisdiction to establish a support order if the petition is filed after a pleading is filed in another state or a foreign country only if:(1) the petition in Virgin Islands is filed before the expiration of the time allowed in th…
16 V.I.C. § 395d Continuing, exclusive jurisdiction to modify child support order
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(a) A tribunal of the Virgin Islands that has issued a child-support order consistent with the law of the Virgin Islands has and shall exercise continuing, exclusive jurisdiction to modify its child-support order if the order is the controlling order, and:(1) at the time of the f…
16 V.I.C. § 395e Continuing jurisdiction to enforce child support order
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(a) A tribunal of the Virgin Islands that has issued a child-support order consistent with the law of the Virgin Islands may serve as an initiating tribunal to request a tribunal of another state to enforce:(1) the order if the order is the controlling order and has not been modi…
16 V.I.C. § 395f Determination of controlling child-support order
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(a) If a proceeding is brought under this subchapter and only one tribunal has issued a child-support order, the order of that tribunal controls and must be recognized. (b) If a proceeding is brought under this subchapter and two or more child-support orders have been issued by t…
16 V.I.C. § 395g Child support orders for two or more obligees
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In responding to registrations or petitions for enforcement of two or more child-support orders in effect at the same time with regard to the same obligor and different individual obligees, at least one of which was issued by a tribunal of another state or a foreign country, a tr…