LD 986
pg. 18
Page 17 of 77 An Act To Enact the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act Amendments of 1996 an... Page 19 of 77
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LR 467
Item 1

 
the family's sojourn in State B lasted for many years, and then
one parent unilaterally decides to return to State A. It is a
reasonable expectation that all tribunals will conclude that
assertion of personal jurisdiction over the absent parent
immediately after the return based on Subsection (3) would
offend due process. The interstate provisions of UIFSA are
available to the returning parent to establish child support.
Note that State B will have long-arm jurisdiction to establish
support under Section 201. See also Section 204, infra, for the
resolution of simultaneous proceedings provided by the Act.

 
The factual situations catalogued in the first seven
subsections are appropriate and constitutionally acceptable
grounds upon which to exercise personal jurisdiction over an
individual. Subsection (7) is bracketed because not all states
maintain putative father registries.

 
Finally, Subsection (8) tracks the broad, catch-all provisions
found in many state statutes, including California, Civ. P.
Code Section 410.10 (1973); New York, supra; and Texas, supra.
Note, however, that the California provision, standing alone,
was found to be inadequate to sustain a child support order
under the facts presented in Kulko v. Superior Court, 436 U.S.
84 (1978).

 
When read together, the 2001 amendments to Subsection(a)
deleting the term "modify" and the addition of new Subsection
(b) are designed to preclude a tribunal of the forum from
ignoring the restrictions on modification of child-support
orders established by UIFSA. Some courts broadly construed the
former reference to "modify" to justify ignoring the
requirement of Section 611 that, absent agreement of the
parties, a petitioner for modification of a child-support
order of an issuing State when all parties have left that
State must be a nonresident of the forum. The 2001 amendments
make clear that a tribunal may not apply the long-arm
provisions of Subsection (a), or any other law of the forum,
and thereby assert that personal jurisdiction over both
individual parties to a support order of another State is
sufficient to modify that order. The limitations on the
exercise of subject matter jurisdiction provided by Sections
611 and 615 must be observed irrespective of the existence of
personal jurisdiction over the parties. Long-arm personal
jurisdiction over the respondent, standing alone, is not
sufficient to grant subject matter jurisdiction over a
proposed modification to a tribunal of the State of residence
of the petitioner, see LeTellier v. LeTellier, 40 S.W.3d 490,
90 A.L.R.5th 707 (Tenn. 2001), reversing 1999 WL
732487 (Tenn. App. 1999).

 
Subsection (b) is intended to cement the principle that
modification of an existing order is not subject solely to the
usual rules of personal jurisdiction over both parties. Even
if a


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