Colo. Rev. Stat. § 14-5-303

Current through Acts effective through 6/7/2024 of the 2024 Legislative Session

Section 14-5-303 - Application of law of this state

Except as otherwise provided in this article, a responding tribunal of this state shall:

(1) Apply the procedural and substantive law generally applicable to similar proceedings originating in this state and may exercise all powers and provide all remedies available in those proceedings; and

(2) Determine the duty of support and the amount payable in accordance with the law and support guidelines of this state.

C.R.S. § 14-5-303

L. 93: Entire article R&RE, p. 1589, § 1, effective 1/1/1995. L. 2003: Entire section amended, p. 1250, § 12, effective 7/1/2004.

COMMENT

Historically states have insisted that forum law be applied to support cases whenever possible. This continues to be a key principle of UIFSA. In general, a responding tribunal has the same powers in a proceeding involving parties in a case with interstate or international effect as it has in an intrastate case. This inevitably means that the act is not self-contained; rather, it is supplemented by the forum's statutes and procedures governing support orders. To insure the efficient processing of the huge number of interstate support cases, it is vital that decision makers apply familiar rules of law to the maximum degree possible. This must be accomplished in a manner consistent with the overriding principle of UIFSA that enforcement is of the issuing tribunal's order, and that the responding state does not make the order its own as a condition of enforcing it.