CHAPTER 161-C ALTERNATIVE METHOD OF SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT FOR DEPENDENT CHILDREN
Collection of Support Debt
Section 161-C:22
161-C:22 Assignment of Right of Support Enforcement. –
I. The receipt of public assistance for a child shall constitute an assignment by the recipient to the department of any and all rights, title, and interest in and to support obligation owed to or for the recipient or, the child or children, or both the recipient and any child or children, up to the amount of public assistance money paid for or on behalf of such child or such children which accrues during the period that the public assistance is provided. Such assignment includes only those arrearages which accrue during the period that the public assistance is provided to the family.
II. The recipient shall also be deemed, without the necessity of signing any document, to have appointed the commissioner as his or her attorney in fact to perform the specific act of endorsing over to the department for the support of any dependent child, any and all drafts, checks, money orders or other negotiable instruments.
III. When an assignment of support rights has terminated and the obligor and the recipient reunite, the obligor may request a suspension of the collection of a support debt under RSA 161-C:4 and the office of child support enforcement services shall not take any action to collect such a debt for so long as the family remains reunited, provided that the adjusted gross income of the family, as defined by RSA 458-C, is equal to or less than 185 percent of the federal poverty guidelines as set by the United States Department of Health and Human Services. If collection of a support debt under RSA 161-C:4 is suspended, the obligor shall provide the office of child support enforcement services with a financial affidavit every 6 months evidencing the income of the reunited family and shall notify the office of child support enforcement services in writing within 10 days of any change in income or if the family is no longer reunited. Failure to report changes in income or in the status of the family as reunited, or to provide a financial affidavit as specified herein, shall cause the suspension of collection to terminate until such time as the required information is submitted and provided that such information meets the criteria for obtaining a suspension of collection. When a support obligation is established under RSA 161-C:4, the office of child support enforcement services shall notify an obligor of the right to request a suspension of the collection of a support debt.
IV. Any person who has assigned support rights shall be entitled to advance notice from the office of child support enforcement services of any proceeding for the establishment, modification, or enforcement of support and the opportunity to participate in any administrative proceeding for the establishment, modification, or enforcement of support.