Palm Beach Florida Divorce & Family Law Blog
Modification of Out of State Order in Divorce Proceedings in Palm Beach County, FL
In a divorce proceeding seeking the modification of an out of state court order, a court may modify a child support order that was issued in another state under certain specific circumstance. In Arquette v. Rutter, the Florida Court of Appeal recently stated: “This court recently explained the circumstances, under the UIFSA, in which a Florida court may modify a child support order issued in another state:
[A]s is the case here, when not all of the parties reside in Florida, a
Florida court may only modify the order under one of the following
circumstances:
1. After notice and hearing the tribunal finds that
a. the child, individual obligee, and obligor do not reside in the
issuing state;
b. the petitioner seeks modification and is not a Florida resident;
and
c. the Florida tribunal has personal jurisdiction over the respondent.
2. The tribunal finds that it has personal jurisdiction over an
individual party or the child and that all of the individual parties have
filed a consent in the issuing tribunal to the Florida tribunal’s modifying
the support order and assuming continuing exclusive jurisdiction
over it.
Trissler v. Trissler, 987 So. 2d 209, 211-12 (Fla. 5th DCA 2008) (citing § 88.6111(1), Fla. Stat.). “The FFCCSOA is virtually identical to the UIFSA.” Id at 210.
Here, neither the parents nor the child live in California. California has, therefore, lost continuing, exclusive jurisdiction under the FFCCSOA. See PuIkkinen v. Pulkkinen, l27So.3d 73S,743(Fla. 1st DCA 2013). “[California’s] loss of continuing, exclusive jurisdiction, however, does not automatically confer jurisdiction on a Florida court to modify [California’s] child support order.” Id. at 743-44 (citing Bowman v. Bowman, 917 N.Y.S.2d 379 (N.Y. App. Div. 2011)). Father is a resident of Florida and, therefore, may not petition to modify the child support order under section 88.6111.
To speak with a divorce attorney in North Palm Beach, Florida, contact Matthew Lane & Associates, P.A. at (561) 363-3400.
Divorce in North Palm Beach, Florida