GRANT, District Judge.
The Nebraska Department of Social Services forwarded to Wyoming a petition by and on behalf of Teresa A. Ostermiller (the mother), a resident of Nebraska. The petition demanded establishment of paternity and order for child support against the father, Scott Spurr (the father), a resident of Wyoming. The father admitted paternity and his obligation of support, and counterclaimed for visitation and change of name of the child. The mother appeals from the district court’s order, challenging its exercise of personal jurisdiction over her and the child to order custody, visitation and name change. The mother argues that the only statutory basis for such jurisdiction would be her purported consent which in reality was coerced, because it was required by the Department of Family Services in Nebraska as a condition to providing her Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and Title XIX medical benefits. Finding this argument unsupported by the record and the law, we affirm.
ISSUES
The mother states the following issues for our review:
I. Did the District Court err when it exercised personal jurisdiction over Appellant, a non-resident of Wyoming?
II. Did the District Court abuse its discretion by allowing the issuance of a standard visitation order given the circumstances, by requiring [the child’s] last name to be changed to [the father’s], and by granting a tax exemption to [the father] who does not have sole custody of the minor child?
Appellee, the Department of Family Services, responds:1
I. Did the district court correctly exercise personal jurisdiction over Appellant, a non-resident of Wyoming?
II. Did the district court correctly address all issues surrounding the paternity action?
FACTS
The mother and father met in California and, unmarried, conceived their son. Soon after, the mother moved to Nebraska where the child was born. She received AFDC and Medicaid medical benefits for herself and the child. She notified the father of her pregnancy and of the birth. The father acknowledged paternity informally but not officially, and the birth certificate bore the surname of the mother. The father contributed nothing to the expenses of pregnancy and birth, provided no support, and never saw the child. After the birth, the father moved from California to Laramie County, Wyoming, and although he was then fairly close to the home of the mother and child in Nebraska, he made no effort at visitation and paid no support.
The Nebraska Department of Social Services, pursuant to the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (Wyo. Stat. §§ 20-4-139 through 20-4-189 (1997) and Neb.Rev.Stat. §§ 42-701 through 42-751 (1997)), forwarded to Wyoming’s office of child support services [942]*942a verified petition for establishment of paternity, order of support, and reimbursement of medical expenses. The father counterclaimed for visitation and change of name. Over the mother’s objection to its assertion of personal jurisdiction over her and the child, and after a hearing at which the mother appeared only by counsel, the district court entered its order establishing paternity, requiring the father to pay child support to the mother, reimbursing the Nebraska agency for support and medical expenses, and providing health care insurance for the child. Pursuant to the father’s counterclaim, the district court also awarded the mother custody and provided the father visitation rights. The order included a provision for change of the child’s name on the birth certificate to the surname of the father and also gave the father the federal income tax dependence deduction since he was working and the mother was not.
The mother appeals from that portion of the district court’s order awarding her custody and granting the father visitation, change of the child’s name on the birth certificate and granting the father the federal income tax dependency deduction. She claims that because she and the child were and are residents of Nebraska, have never been in Wyoming, and have no contact with it, the district court had no personal jurisdiction over her or the child on the basis of which to determine the issues of custody, visitation, name change, and dependency deduction. She also claims that if the district court did have personal jurisdiction, it abused its discretion in ordering the “standard” visitation because it does not take into account the age of the child and the absence of any relationship between the child and the father and that the visitation should have been more appropriate to the circumstances.
DISCUSSION
The in personam jurisdiction of the district court over a non-resident parent who submits to it by seeking affirmative relief extends to all matters within the district court’s subject matter jurisdiction and asserted by a party. One may not seek affirmative relief for only limited purposes and not others that are within the district court’s subject matter jurisdiction and claims asserted by the opposing party. This is so because a party’s demand for affirmative relief changes a special appearance to a general appearance which cannot later be withdrawn. Quenzer v. Quenzer, 653 P.2d 295, 305 (Wyo.1982), cert. denied 460 U.S. 1041, 103 S.Ct. 1436, 75 L.Ed.2d 794 (1983). The mother’s submission to the jurisdiction for adjudication of paternity and child support subjected her to the district court’s jurisdiction for the claim asserted by the father for determination of visitation and name change.
The Uniform Interstate Family Support- Act is a comprehensive statutory scheme to enable and facilitate the adjudication of support obligations including those arising from paternity establishment in cases of unmarried parents where the parties live in different states. A person claiming against another an obligation of support or a government entity seeking reimbursement of welfare and Medicaid benefits paid for the benefit of a parent or child may initiate proceedings against the obligor by initiating an action in the child’s home state which may forward it to the responding state (residence of defendant) or may file it directly with the appropriate tribunal in the responding state.
The responding tribunal then issues process to the defendant. The statute contemplates reciprocal access to the enacting states’ courts for the purpose of establishing and enforcing support obligations against residents of the responding state. In Wyoming, the statute incorporates by reference Wyoming’s parentage statutes (Wyo. Stat. §§ 14-2-101 through 14-2-120 (1997)) for paternity and support proceedings and also provides independently for the powers and jurisdiction of Wyoming district courts as responding tribunal. Pertinent provisions of the statutes are:
(a) A district court of this state may serve as an initiating or responding tribunal in a proceeding brought under the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act ⅜ * * to determine that * * * the respondent is a parent of that child.
(b) In a proceeding to determine parentage by a responding tribunal of this state, [943]*943the provisions of W.S.
Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI
GRANT, District Judge.
The Nebraska Department of Social Services forwarded to Wyoming a petition by and on behalf of Teresa A. Ostermiller (the mother), a resident of Nebraska. The petition demanded establishment of paternity and order for child support against the father, Scott Spurr (the father), a resident of Wyoming. The father admitted paternity and his obligation of support, and counterclaimed for visitation and change of name of the child. The mother appeals from the district court’s order, challenging its exercise of personal jurisdiction over her and the child to order custody, visitation and name change. The mother argues that the only statutory basis for such jurisdiction would be her purported consent which in reality was coerced, because it was required by the Department of Family Services in Nebraska as a condition to providing her Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and Title XIX medical benefits. Finding this argument unsupported by the record and the law, we affirm.
ISSUES
The mother states the following issues for our review:
I. Did the District Court err when it exercised personal jurisdiction over Appellant, a non-resident of Wyoming?
II. Did the District Court abuse its discretion by allowing the issuance of a standard visitation order given the circumstances, by requiring [the child’s] last name to be changed to [the father’s], and by granting a tax exemption to [the father] who does not have sole custody of the minor child?
Appellee, the Department of Family Services, responds:1
I. Did the district court correctly exercise personal jurisdiction over Appellant, a non-resident of Wyoming?
II. Did the district court correctly address all issues surrounding the paternity action?
FACTS
The mother and father met in California and, unmarried, conceived their son. Soon after, the mother moved to Nebraska where the child was born. She received AFDC and Medicaid medical benefits for herself and the child. She notified the father of her pregnancy and of the birth. The father acknowledged paternity informally but not officially, and the birth certificate bore the surname of the mother. The father contributed nothing to the expenses of pregnancy and birth, provided no support, and never saw the child. After the birth, the father moved from California to Laramie County, Wyoming, and although he was then fairly close to the home of the mother and child in Nebraska, he made no effort at visitation and paid no support.
The Nebraska Department of Social Services, pursuant to the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (Wyo. Stat. §§ 20-4-139 through 20-4-189 (1997) and Neb.Rev.Stat. §§ 42-701 through 42-751 (1997)), forwarded to Wyoming’s office of child support services [942]*942a verified petition for establishment of paternity, order of support, and reimbursement of medical expenses. The father counterclaimed for visitation and change of name. Over the mother’s objection to its assertion of personal jurisdiction over her and the child, and after a hearing at which the mother appeared only by counsel, the district court entered its order establishing paternity, requiring the father to pay child support to the mother, reimbursing the Nebraska agency for support and medical expenses, and providing health care insurance for the child. Pursuant to the father’s counterclaim, the district court also awarded the mother custody and provided the father visitation rights. The order included a provision for change of the child’s name on the birth certificate to the surname of the father and also gave the father the federal income tax dependence deduction since he was working and the mother was not.
The mother appeals from that portion of the district court’s order awarding her custody and granting the father visitation, change of the child’s name on the birth certificate and granting the father the federal income tax dependency deduction. She claims that because she and the child were and are residents of Nebraska, have never been in Wyoming, and have no contact with it, the district court had no personal jurisdiction over her or the child on the basis of which to determine the issues of custody, visitation, name change, and dependency deduction. She also claims that if the district court did have personal jurisdiction, it abused its discretion in ordering the “standard” visitation because it does not take into account the age of the child and the absence of any relationship between the child and the father and that the visitation should have been more appropriate to the circumstances.
DISCUSSION
The in personam jurisdiction of the district court over a non-resident parent who submits to it by seeking affirmative relief extends to all matters within the district court’s subject matter jurisdiction and asserted by a party. One may not seek affirmative relief for only limited purposes and not others that are within the district court’s subject matter jurisdiction and claims asserted by the opposing party. This is so because a party’s demand for affirmative relief changes a special appearance to a general appearance which cannot later be withdrawn. Quenzer v. Quenzer, 653 P.2d 295, 305 (Wyo.1982), cert. denied 460 U.S. 1041, 103 S.Ct. 1436, 75 L.Ed.2d 794 (1983). The mother’s submission to the jurisdiction for adjudication of paternity and child support subjected her to the district court’s jurisdiction for the claim asserted by the father for determination of visitation and name change.
The Uniform Interstate Family Support- Act is a comprehensive statutory scheme to enable and facilitate the adjudication of support obligations including those arising from paternity establishment in cases of unmarried parents where the parties live in different states. A person claiming against another an obligation of support or a government entity seeking reimbursement of welfare and Medicaid benefits paid for the benefit of a parent or child may initiate proceedings against the obligor by initiating an action in the child’s home state which may forward it to the responding state (residence of defendant) or may file it directly with the appropriate tribunal in the responding state.
The responding tribunal then issues process to the defendant. The statute contemplates reciprocal access to the enacting states’ courts for the purpose of establishing and enforcing support obligations against residents of the responding state. In Wyoming, the statute incorporates by reference Wyoming’s parentage statutes (Wyo. Stat. §§ 14-2-101 through 14-2-120 (1997)) for paternity and support proceedings and also provides independently for the powers and jurisdiction of Wyoming district courts as responding tribunal. Pertinent provisions of the statutes are:
(a) A district court of this state may serve as an initiating or responding tribunal in a proceeding brought under the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act ⅜ * * to determine that * * * the respondent is a parent of that child.
(b) In a proceeding to determine parentage by a responding tribunal of this state, [943]*943the provisions of W.S. 14-2-101 through 14-2-120 and the laws of this state on choice of law shall apply.
Wyo. Stat. § 21M-185.
(a) Except as otherwise provided by the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, a responding tribunal of this state:
(i) Shall 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 * ⅜ *.
Wyo. Stat. § 20-4-153(a)(i).
(a) In a proceeding to establish * * * a support order or to determine parentage, a district court of this state may exercise personal jurisdiction over a non-resident
[[Image here]]
(ii) The individual submits to the jurisdiction of this state by consent * * *;
* * *
(vii) The individual asserted parentage in this state pursuant to W.S. 14-2-101 through 14 — 2—120[.]
Wyo. Stat. § 20-4-142.
(a) The judgment or order of the court determining the existence or nonexistence of the parent and child relationship is determinative for all purposes.
(b) If the judgment or order of the court is at variance with the child’s birth certificate, the court shall order that a new birth certificate be issued * ⅜ *.
(e) The judgment or order may contain any other provision directed against the appropriate party to the proceeding concerning the duty of support, the custody and guardianship of the child, visitation privileges -with the child ⅜ * * or any other matter in the best interest of the child.
Wyo. Stat. § 14-2-113 (emphasis added).
The Uniform Interstate Family Support Act incorporating the parentage statutes clearly vest the district court with jurisdiction to determine parentage and to order custody, support and visitation. Personal jurisdiction over any non-resident parent who submits to it by consent or by a demand for affirmative relief is subject to it for all purposes contemplated by the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act and the determination of parentage statutes.
There is no evidence in the record to support a contention of involuntariness or coercion with respect to the mother’s signature on the petition initiated by Nebraska’s child support enforcement agency. The mother cites no legal authority for the claim that requiring such by way of cooperation as a requisite to the receipt of AFDC benefits is coercive as a matter of law.
’ The mother asserts that even if the district court had personal jurisdiction over her to order custody, visitation, and change of name, the district court abused its discretion in applying its “standard” visitation order. The father appeared at the hearing and testified as did his current wife. The mother, represented at the hearing by counsel, did not personally appear and gave no testimony. The father’s testimony revealed that he is now married to a woman who has a young child and that he is capable of providing care for the child. The father’s current wife is highly supportive, and the father wants to enjoy a relationship with the child, has a suitable residence, stable home and regular employment for that purpose. There was no evidence to refute any of this testimony and it provided a basis on which the district court could find as it did. We find no abuse of discretion.
As to the change of name on the birth certificate, Wyo. Stat. § 14-2-113(b) makes it mandatory, not permissive, that the district court order a new birth certificate if its finding of parentage is inconsistent with the present birth certificate. The district court did not abuse its discretion in ordering the substitution of the father’s name on the birth certificate. The district court took into consideration that the mother would likely marry, in which case the child would bear a name different from both the mother and the father and that this would not be in the best interests of the child.
Lastly, the mother alleges the district court was without the authority to grant the [944]*944father the tax dependency deduction. The person entitled to this deduction is deter-, mined by the applicable Internal Revenue Service regulations and is not a matter for this court to decide.
CONCLUSION
The applicable statutes confer subject matter jurisdiction as well as, in the circumstances of this case, personal jurisdiction for the district court to act as it did. There is nothing in the record to support the contention that the mother was coerced into submitting to the district court’s jurisdiction and no authority for the proposition that ■ her submission as a requisite to receipt of AFDC and other benefits amounts in law to coercion. Under the applicable statutes, the district court had not only the authority but the obligation to make the determinations it did. There was no abuse of discretion.
The district court is affirmed in all respects.
GOLDEN, J., filed a dissenting opinion, with which LEHMAN, C.J., joined.