§ 111-N — Review and cost of living adjustment of support orders

§ 111-n. Review and cost of living adjustment of support orders. 1.\nOrders subject to review. In accordance with the timeframes set forth in\nsubdivision three of this section, the support collection unit shall\nconduct a review for adjustment purposes of:\n (a) all orders of support being enforced pursuant to this title on\nbehalf of persons in receipt of family assistance; and\n (b) those orders of support being enforced pursuant to this title on\nbehalf of persons not in receipt of family assistance, for which a\nrequest for a cost of living adjustment review has been received from\neither party to the order.\n 2. Definitions. For purposes of this section, the following\ndefinitions shall be used:\n (a) "Adjusted child support obligation amount" shall mean the sum of\nthe cost of living adjustment and the support obligation amount\ncontained in the order under review.\n (b) "Adjusted order" shall mean an order issued by the support\ncollection unit reflecting a change to the obligation amount of the most\nrecently issued order of support made on behalf of a child in receipt of\nfamily assistance or child support enforcement services pursuant to\nsection one hundred eleven-g of this title.\n (c) "Cost of living adjustment" shall mean the amount by which the\nsupport obligation is changed as the result of a review, and shall be\ndetermined based upon annual average changes to the consumer price index\nfor all urban consumers (CPI-U), as published by the United States\ndepartment of labor bureau of labor statistics, for the years preceding\nthe year of the review, as follows:\n (1) Identify the CPI-U "percent change from the previous annual\naverage" for each year preceding the year of the review, beginning with\nand including the later of the year in which the most recent order was\nissued or nineteen hundred ninety-four, and calculate the sum of the\npercentages for those years.\n (2) Where the sum as calculated pursuant to subparagraph one of this\nparagraph equals or exceeds ten percent, multiply the support obligation\nin the order under review by such percentage. The product is the cost of\nliving adjustment.\n (d) "Order" shall mean an original, modified, or adjusted order of\nsupport; or, after a hearing in response to objections to a cost of\nliving adjustment as set forth in an adjusted order of support, the\norder of support reflecting the application of the child support\nstandards pursuant to section two hundred forty of the domestic\nrelations law or section four hundred thirteen of the family court act,\nor an order of no adjustment.\n (e) "Review" shall mean the calculation of the cost of living\nadjustment and the adjusted child support obligation amount by the\nsupport collection unit for the most recently issued order of support\nmade on behalf of a child in receipt of family assistance, or child\nsupport enforcement services pursuant to section one hundred eleven-g of\nthis title.\n 3. Timeframes. The review of support orders for cost of living\nadjustment purposes shall be conducted by the support collection unit in\naccordance with the following timeframes:\n (a) For all orders of support on behalf of persons in receipt of\nfamily assistance, a review shall be conducted during the second\ncalendar year following the year in which the order was issued, or the\ncurrent year, whichever is later. Any cost of living adjustment\nresulting from a review shall be effective sixty days following the date\nof the adjusted order, or twenty-four months after the date of the order\nunder review, whichever is later.\n (b) For all orders of support on behalf of persons not in receipt of\nfamily assistance, a review shall be conducted during the second\ncalendar year following the year in which the order was issued, or the\ncurrent year, whichever is later; provided, however, that no such review\nshall occur unless a request for such review has been received from a\nparty to the order. Any cost of living adjustment resulting from a\nreview shall be effective sixty days following the date of the adjusted\norder, or twenty-four months after the date of the order under review,\nwhichever is later.\n 4. Adjustment process. (a) A cost of living adjustment shall be made\nby the support collection unit with respect to each order of support\nunder review, if the sum of the annual average changes of the consumer\nprice index for all urban consumers (CPI-U), as published by the United\nStates department of labor bureau of labor statistics, is ten percent or\ngreater. The child support obligation amount, as increased by the cost\nof living adjustment calculated during the review, shall be rounded to\nthe nearest dollar. In the event that the sum of the annual average\nchanges of the CPI-U is less than ten percent, no cost of living\nadjustment shall occur.\n (b) Upon the conclusion of the adjustment review, the support\ncollection unit shall issue and send an adjusted order by first class\nmail to the parties. The cost of living adjustment and the adjusted\nchild support obligation amount as calculated by the review shall be\nreflected in the adjusted order. The child support obligation amount\ncontained in the adjusted order shall be due and owing on the date the\nfirst payment is due under the terms of the order of support which was\nreviewed and adjusted occurring on or after the effective date of the\nadjusted order.\n (c) The support collection unit shall provide a copy of the adjusted\norder to the court which issued the most recent order of support, which\nshall append it to the order.\n 5. Objections. (a) Where there is an objection to a cost of living\nadjustment, either party or the support collection unit shall have\nthirty-five days from the date of mailing of the adjusted order by the\nsupport collection unit to submit to the court identified thereon\nwritten objections, requesting a hearing on the adjustment of the order\nof support.\n (b) If objections are submitted timely to the court, the cost of\nliving adjustment shall not take effect, and a hearing shall be\nscheduled by the court. The hearing shall be conducted and a\ndetermination made by the court pursuant to section two hundred forty-c\nof the domestic relations law or section four hundred thirteen-a of the\nfamily court act.\n (c) Where no objection has been timely raised to a cost of living\nadjustment as reflected in an adjusted order, such adjusted order shall\nbecome final without further review by the court or any judge or support\nmagistrate thereof.\n 6. Adjusted order - form. The adjusted order shall contain the\nfollowing information:\n (a) the caption of the order of support subject to the review, the\ndate of such order, and the court in which it was entered;\n (b) the identification, telephone number, and address of the support\ncollection unit which conducted the review;\n (c) the cost of living adjustment and the adjusted child support\nobligation amount as calculated during the review of the order, and a\nstatement that such amount shall be due and owing on the date the first\npayment is due under the term of the order of support which was reviewed\nand adjusted, occurring on or after the effective date of the adjusted\norder;\n (d) the definition of cost of living adjustment;\n (e) a statement that the child support obligation amount, as increased\nby the cost of living adjustment, has been rounded to the nearest\ndollar;\n (f) a statement that all other provisions of the order of support\nwhich was reviewed and adjusted remain in full force and effect;\n (g) a statement that the application of a cost of living adjustment in\nno way limits, restricts, expands, or impairs the rights of any party to\nfile for a modification of a child support order as otherwise provided\nby law;\n (h) a statement that where either party objects to the cost of living\nadjustment, the party has the right to be heard by the court and to\npresent evidence to the court which the court will consider in adjusting\nthe child support order in compliance with section four hundred thirteen\nof the family court act or section two hundred forty of the domestic\nrelations law, known as the child support standards act; provided,\nhowever, that written objections are filed with the court within\nthirty-five days from the date the adjusted order was mailed by the\nsupport collection unit; that when filing objections the objecting party\nshould attach a copy of the adjusted order, if available; and\n (i) a statement that where any party fails to provide, and update upon\nany change, the support collection unit with a current address to which\nan adjusted order can be sent, the support obligation amount contained\ntherein shall become due and owing on the date the first payment is due\nunder the order of support which was reviewed and adjusted occurring on\nor after the effective date of the adjusted order, regardless of whether\nor not the party has received a copy of the adjusted order.\n 7. Notice of right to review. On or after the first day of January,\nnineteen hundred ninety-eight, any order of support twenty-four or more\nmonths old which was issued on behalf of a child in receipt of family\nassistance or child support enforcement services pursuant to section one\nhundred eleven-g of this title, is eligible for a cost of living\nadjustment every two years. The support collection unit shall notify the\nparties to the order of their right to make a written request to the\nsupport collection unit for a cost of living adjustment of such support\norder. Such notice shall contain the amount of the cost of living\nadjustment, the amount of the adjusted child support obligation, the\napplicable CPI-U used in the calculation of that amount, the address and\ntelephone number of the support collection unit where assistance can be\nobtained in commencing an adjustment review, and other information\ndeemed necessary and relevant by the department, and shall be sent to\nthe parties by first class mail at their last known address, and shall\ncontain a reply form and envelope with postage pre-paid. The support\ncollection unit shall provide the notice described herein not less than\nonce every two years.\n