Title 45

SECTION 309.105

309.105 What procedures governing child support guidelines must a Tribe or Tribal organization include in a Tribal IV-D plan

§ 309.105 What procedures governing child support guidelines must a Tribe or Tribal organization include in a Tribal IV-D plan?

(a) A Tribal IV-D plan must: (1) Establish one set of child support guidelines by law or action of the tribunal for setting and modifying child support obligation amounts;

(2) Include a copy of child support guidelines governing the establishment and modification of child support obligations;

(3) Indicate whether non-cash payments will be permitted to satisfy support obligations, and if so;

(i) Require that Tribal support orders allowing non-cash payments also state the specific dollar amount of the support obligation; and

(ii) Describe the type(s) of non-cash support that will be permitted to satisfy the underlying specific dollar amount of the support order; and

(iii) Provide that non-cash payments will not be permitted to satisfy assigned support obligations;

(4) Indicate that child support guidelines will be reviewed and revised, if appropriate, at least once every four years;

(5) Provide that there shall be a rebuttable presumption, in any proceeding for the award of child support, that the amount of the award that would result from the application of the guidelines established consistent with this section is the correct amount of child support to be awarded; and

(6) Provide for the application of the guidelines unless there is a written finding or a specific finding on the record of the tribunal that the application of the guidelines would be unjust or inappropriate in a particular case in accordance with criteria established by the Tribe or Tribal organization. Such criteria must take into consideration the needs of the child. Findings that rebut the guidelines must state the amount of support that would have been required under the guidelines and include a justification of why the order varies from the guidelines.

(b) The guidelines established under paragraph (a) of this section must at a minimum:

(1) Take into account the needs of the child and the earnings and income of the noncustodial parent; and

(2) Be based on specific descriptive and numeric criteria and result in a computation of the support obligation.