11.03.060 Foreign Orders
(a) Registration for Enforcement of Foreign Order
(1) The SRMT Court shall recognize and enforce any valid child support order that is properly registered with the Tribal Court pursuant to the Federal Full Faith and Credit for Child Support Orders Act (28 U.S.C. § 1738B).
(2) Foreign Orders may be registered with the Tribal Court by request of the transferring foreign court or by petition of the SRMT-CSEU. Any requests to the Tribal Court from a foreign jurisdiction for enforcement of a child support order shall be referred to SRMT- CSEU for processing of the petition under this section.
(b) Petitions for Registration of Order.
(1) A petition and proposed order shall be filed with the Tribal Court requesting registration of the foreign child support order. The Petition shall include:
(A) The name of the petitioner;
(B) The name of the payor;
(C) Statement that upon information and belief the payor is an enrolled member or employee of the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe;
(D) The name of the child and other children that the payor may have child support obligations to;
(E) The amount of arrears, if any;
(F) A copy of the most recent court order from the foreign jurisdiction for which enforcement is sought;
(G) The record of payment over the past twelve months;
(H) The person or entity that should be paid if the petition is granted;
(I) Any other relevant information that will aid the court.
(J) Identification of what child support enforcement services are being requested.
(2) The Tribal Court shall serve the petition for registration along with a Notice of Registration by certified mail a copy of the petition with the notice of registration to the payor. The payor shall be notified of the right to object in writing to the registration within twenty (20) days of the mailing. The only allowable objection to the recognition and enforcement of a judgment is a mistake of fact or that the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the matter.
(c) Enforcement of Foreign Judgment
(1) If twenty (20) days have lapsed and no objection from the payor has been received, the Tribal Court shall issue an order within seven days recognizing the judgment as enforceable
(2) The Tribal Court Order shall not allow any modification of the underlying child support order or otherwise change the payment percentage, or other payment amount in the underlying child support order unless the parties agree the originating Court no longer has exclusive, continuing jurisdiction to hear the matter. The foreign court retains exclusive, continuing jurisdiction until neither party nor the child reside there or the parties agree to have SRMT Tribal Court assume jurisdiction.
(3) Upon issuance of the Order recognizing the judgment, the SRMT-CSEU shall issue a Federal Notice of Income Withholding and submit the Notice to the employer or other source of income of the payor, if applicable.
(4) Income Withholding Order/Notice for Support shall indicate the amounts requested to be withheld and any additional amounts to repay any arrearages pursuant to the terms of the order. The employer must submit all amounts withheld to the SRMT-CSEU no later than five (5) days following the date of withholding from the payer's income.
(5) The maximum amounts allowed to be withheld from any source of income shall be no more than fifty percent (50%) of the payor's gross income as outlined above in § VG (4).
(6) An employer may not discharge, refuse to employ or take disciplinary action against an employee because his or her wages have been subjected to withholding for child support.
(7) Failure to comply with this section may subject an employer to appropriate penalties as to be determined under SRMT law or custom.
(8) All other provisions of this chapter shall be followed with respect to enforcement of the order.
(d) Motion to Transfer.
(1) Any motion to transfer a proceeding from a jurisdiction shall include a (i) a certified copy of the underlying order; (ii) a statement of arrears; (iii) (if known) proof of tribal affiliation or minimum contacts with the Tribe; and (iv) a statement that the forwarding jurisdiction has complied with all of its procedures to effectuate the transfer.
(2) The Court shall issue an Order granting or denying transfer to the parties and to the SRMT- CSEU within twenty (20) days of receiving a motion to transfer.