S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  9464

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                               May 1, 2014
                               ___________

Introduced  by  M. of A. BARRETT, WEINSTEIN -- (at request of the Office
  of Court Administration) -- read once and referred to the Committee on
  Judiciary

AN ACT to amend the family court act, in  relation  to  applications  to
  modify orders of child support in the family court

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Section 451 of the family court act, as amended by  chapter
182 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows:
  S  451.  Continuing  jurisdiction.  1.  Except  as provided in article
five-B of this act, the  court  has  continuing  jurisdiction  over  any
support  proceeding  brought  under  this  article until its judgment is
completely satisfied and may modify,  set  aside  or  vacate  any  order
issued  in  the  course  of  the proceeding, provided, however, that the
modification, set aside or vacatur  shall  not  reduce  or  annul  child
support  arrears  accrued prior to the making of an application pursuant
to this section. The court shall not reduce or annul any  other  arrears
unless  the defaulting party shows good cause for failure to make appli-
cation for relief from the judgment or order directing payment prior  to
the  accrual  of  the arrears, in which case the facts and circumstances
constituting such good cause shall be set forth in a written  memorandum
of  decision. A modification may increase support payments nunc pro tunc
as of the date of the initial application for  support  based  on  newly
discovered evidence. Any retroactive amount of support due shall be paid
and  be  enforceable  as  provided in section four hundred forty of this
article. Upon an application to [modify,] set aside or vacate  an  order
of  support,  no hearing shall be required unless such application shall
be supported by affidavit and other evidentiary material  sufficient  to
establish a prima facie case for the relief requested.
  2.  A  PROCEEDING  TO MODIFY AN ORDER OF SUPPORT SHALL BE COMMENCED BY
THE FILING OF A PETITION WHICH SHALL ALLEGE FACTS SUFFICIENT TO MEET ONE
OR MORE OF THE GROUNDS ENUMERATED IN SUBDIVISION THREE OF THIS SECTION.
  3. (a) The court may modify an order of child  support,  including  an
order  incorporating  without merging an agreement or stipulation of the

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                           LBD13719-02-4

A. 9464                             2

parties, upon a  showing  of  a  substantial  change  in  circumstances.
Incarceration  shall  not  be  a  bar to finding a substantial change in
circumstances provided such incarceration is not the result of  non-pay-
ment  of  a  child  support  order,  or an offense against the custodial
parent or child who is the subject of the order or judgment.
  (b) In addition, unless the parties have specifically opted out of the
following provisions in a  validly  executed  agreement  or  stipulation
entered into between the parties, the court may modify an order of child
support where:
  (i) three years have passed since the order was entered, last modified
or adjusted; or
  (ii) there has been a change in either party's gross income by fifteen
percent or more since the order was entered, last modified, or adjusted.
A  reduction in income shall not be considered as a ground for modifica-
tion unless it was involuntary and the party has made diligent  attempts
to  secure  employment  commensurate with his or her education, ability,
and experience.
  S 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
have become a law.