Senate Bill No. 543
(By Senator Boley)
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[Introduced February 16, 1999;
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend article one-b, chapter forty-eight-a of the code
of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
seventeen, relating to accountability for child support
payments; income share formula applied for both custodial
and noncustodial parents; establishment of checking account
in child's name; oversight; and authority for proposed rules
for legislative promulgation.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article one-b, chapter forty-eight-a of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
be amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
seventeen, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1B. GUIDELINES FOR CHILD SUPPORT AWARDS.
§48A-1B-17. Accountability of custodial and noncustodial parents
for child support; checking account established for child; right to an audit; oversight; authority
to propose rules for legislative promulgation.
(a) Notwithstanding any other law in this code to the
contrary, on and after the first day of July, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-nine, all child support awarded pursuant to the
income share formula and upheld by court order, from both the
custodial and the noncustodial parent, is subject to the
accountability provisions as set forth in this section.
(b) Monthly child support amounts shall be ascertained for
both the custodial and the noncustodial parent, pursuant to the
current calculations for child support obligations as set forth
in this article.
(c) These monthly child support payments shall be deposited
in a checking account, which has been set up in the child's name
at a bank, as directed by the court. Both the custodial and the
noncustodial parent shall receive monthly statements on the
account from the bank. Withdrawals may be made from the checking account by check only, upon which the purpose for the withdrawal
is clearly set forth. Cash withdrawals may not be made from the
checking account.
(d) Upon written notice to the court, the noncustodial
parent may, at his or her own expense, have audits performed on
the checking account. The audits may not be performed more than
four times per year. If, in the opinion of the court, such an
audit shows that the moneys in the account are not being used as
directed by the court for support of the child, then the court
may direct that control of the child's checking account be
transferred to the noncustodial parent, or to a third party, as
determined by the court to be in the best interest of the child.
(e) The court may not involve the West Virginia support
enforcement division in collection of the child support payments
owed to the child unless either parent fails to meet his or her
obligations as directed by the court.
(f) The West Virginia child support enforcement division is
hereby authorized to propose rules for legislative promulgation,
pursuant to chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, to implement the
provisions of this section.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide for
accountability for child support payments; to establish an income
share formula for both custodial and noncustodial parents to be
deposited for the child's use; to direct the establishment of
checking account in child's name; to provide for judicial
oversight; to keep collections of child support from the West
Virginia child support enforcement division to those instances
where the parents are not in compliance with court orders; and to
authorize proposed rules for legislative promulgation.
§48A-1B-17 is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.
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