Section 25.8 Uniform Interstate Family Support Act: 2008 Version

• Library: Family Law Deskbook and 2014 Supp

5. (§25.8) Uniform Interstate Family Support Act: 2008 Version

In August 2011, Missouri adopted UIFSA 2008, which appears in §§ 454.1500–454.1728, RSMo Supp. 2011. This version makes no fundamental changes to the policies and procedures of the original UIFSA; its national provisions are the same as those in UIFSA 2001. But UIFSA 2008 modifies the international provisions of UIFSA 2001 to comport with the United States’ obligations under the 2007 Hague Child Support Convention (2007 Hague Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance).

For the first time on a global scale, the Hague Child Support Convention establishes uniform, simple, fast, inexpensive procedures for processing international child support cases. In 2008, when President George W. Bush issued the official letter transmitting that treaty to Congress, estimates indicated that the United States had over 15 million cases involving international child support, which were expected to increase. To achieve its goal of ensuring the effective international recovery of child support and other forms of family maintenance, the Hague Child Support Convention set up a comprehensive system of cooperation among the contracting foreign states for recognizing and enforcing foreign support decisions. The text...