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Home » Non-Custodial Parent Seek Support Arrears in AZ | Hildebrand Law, PC

Non-Custodial Parent Seek Support Arrears in AZ | Hildebrand Law, PC

Posted on : March 6, 2017, By: Chris Hildebrand

Can Non-Custodial Parents Seek Child Support Arrearages

Can Non-Custodial Parents Seek Child Support Arrearages in Arizona

Each parent has a duty to provide financial support for minor children. After a divorce, the parent with whom the child lives is entitled to child support from the other parent. Can a mother get child support where the father wins custody, but she won’t give him the child? In Campbell v. Campbell, 617 P.2d 66 (Ariz. Ct. App. 1980) the Arizona Court of Appeals considered the issue.

Case Facts

Mrs. Campbell and Mr. Campbell divorced in Arizona, and the court awarded Mr. Campbell custody. Nonetheless, Mrs. Campbell, who lived in California with the child, refused to return the child.

Mrs. Campbell then asked for child support under Arizona’s Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act (URESA). The trial court refused to award Mrs. Campbell child support because she was in violation of the court custody order. Mrs. Campbell appealed.

Learn if a Non-Custodial Parent Can Seek Back Child Support in Arizona from Our Arizona Licensed Attorney Chris Hildebrand of Hildebrand Law, PC.

Duty to Provide Financial Support to Minor Child

The Court of Appeals stated unequivocally that Mr. Campbell owes his child a duty of financial support. This continues despite Mrs. Campbell’s interference with his right to custody. Mrs. Campbell’s Entitlement to URESA Remedies The Court considered whether Mrs. Campbell should be allowed to use URESA remedies when she did not have legal custody.

Can Non-Custodial Parents Seek Child Support Arrearages?

Can Non-Custodial Parents Seek Child Support Arrearages?

The URESA provisions allow a person having legal custody of a minor child to enforce the support obligation. They also authorize a state or political subdivision that has furnished support to the child to enforce the support obligation. Here, the lower court dissolved Mrs. Campbell and Mr. Campbell’s marriage and awarded custody of the child to Mr. Campbell.

Under the language of the statute, Mrs. Campbell cannot invoke URESA remedies to get support for the minor child. In Arizona, the parental duty of support under Arizona’s Family Responsibility Act may be enforced via all civil and criminal remedies.

The remedies provided in URESA would be included within this broad language. However, the Court ruled that availability of the URESA remedy was subject to the procedural safeguards in URESA.

Mrs. Campbell argues that the Arizona legislature intended to enforce duties of support for children in URESA proceedings without regard to interference with custody rights. The Court said that this might be true for actions brought by a state providing support for the child. It may also be true if a parent having legal custody allegedly interferes with the other parent’s visitation rights.

But interference with custody by a noncustodial parent cannot create a duty of support payable to the interfering parent. Mrs. Campbell isn’t one of the parties who can enforce Mr. Campbell’s obligation under the circumstances of this case.

Disposition

The Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court ruling.

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Chris Hildebrand wrote this article to ensure everyone has access to information about family law in Arizona. Chris is a divorce and family law attorney at Hildebrand Law, PC. He has over 24 years of Arizona family law experience and has received multiple awards, including US News and World Report “Top Arizona Divorce Attorneys”, Phoenix Magazine “Top Divorce Law Firms”, and Arizona Foothills Magazine “Best of the Valley” award. He believes the policies and procedures he uses to get his clients through a divorce should all be guided by the principles of honesty, integrity, and, quite frankly, actually caring about what his clients are going through in a divorce or family law case. In short, his practice is defined by the success of his clients. He also manages all of the other attorneys at his firm to make sure the outcomes in their clients’ cases are successful as well.

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I cannot express enough how thankful I am that I found Hildrebrand Law. Chris Hildebrand is an excellent attorney who has my best interests in mind and always encourages me to do the right thing regardless of what the opposing party is doing. Chris knows family law very well and relies on that knowledge to format options and solutions for each situation that may arise. He knows what the Court expects and what will and will not be tolerated. He has attempted to settle this case quickly and as inexpensively as possible from the start. His paralegal, Laura, is remarkable. She is organized, quick to respond, and compassionate. Chris is well prepared with a binder full of detailed and organized information and that is likely due to her thorough skills and expertise. While getting a divorce that was unexpected is a painful and difficult process, Chris and Laura treat my family and I like friends rather than another just "client." I am hopeful that I do not need to recommend divorce lawyers to anyone in the future but if I do, Hildebrand Law will be a recommendation I would give hands down.

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HIGHLY RECOMMEND! Cannot say enough wonderful things about my experience with Hildebrand Law. I have been working with Chris and the firm for about 6 years now, and I always feel like my concerns, issues and questions are addressed in a thorough and timely manner. They definitely have my best interests at heart. I recommend Chris whenever anyone asks me who I used as my divorce attorney. Great firm and great results!

Rick Cabral

Rick Cabral

23:23 22 Jan 19

Chris Hildebrand is one of the sharpest and effective attorneys that I have encountered in my 27 years of business. Doing business on the East Coast, as well as Southern California and Arizona has afforded me countless opportunities to work with legal minds from various parts of the country. Needless to say, Chris is by far one of the most honest, intelligent and street smart attorneys I have encountered. I have referred a number of people to Chris and everyone has been fully satisfied. 100% recommend him!

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