If you have moved to New Jersey and have a child support or alimony order or a Judgment of Divorce, which provides for child support or alimony payments, you should register your foreign order with the New Jersey Court.
The procedure for registering a foreign order is governed by N.J.S.A. 2A:4-30.105, which requires that certain documents and information be provided to the appropriate Court. This includes:
(1) a letter of transmittal requesting registration and enforcement;
(2) two copies, including one certified copy, of all orders to be registered, including any modification of an order;
(3) a sworn statement by the party seeking registration or a certified statement by the custodian of the records showing the amount of any arrearage;
(4) the name of the obligor and, if known:
(a) the obligor’s address and social security number;
(b) the name and address of the obligor’s employer and any other source of income of the obligor; and
(c) a description and the location of property of the obligor in this State not exempt from execution; and
(5) the name and address of the obligee and, if applicable, the agency or person to whom support payments are to be remitted.
Once the Court receives the above documents and information, your order will be filed as a foreign judgment and will be enforceable in the state of New Jersey in the same manner as a New Jersey order. The court will then notify the other party, giving them twenty (20) days to contest the validity or enforcement of the order. If a party fails to contest the order in a timely manner, the order is confirmed by operation of law and will be enforced by the Court.
New Jersey Family Law: Contesting a Foreign Support Order
N.J.S.A. 2A:4-30.110 provides that a party contesting the validity or enforcement of a registered order or seeking to vacate the registration has the burden of proving one or more of the following defenses:
(1) the issuing Court lacked personal jurisdiction over the contesting party;
(2) the order was obtained by fraud;
(3) the order has been vacated, suspended, or modified by a later order;
(4) the issuing Court has stayed the order pending appeal;
(5) there is a defense under the law of this State to the remedy sought;
(6) full or partial payment has been made; or
(7) the statute of limitation under section 43 of this act precludes enforcement of some or all of the arrearages.
If the contesting party is able to prove one or more of the above defenses, the Court may stay enforcement of the order, vacate the order, or issue other appropriate orders.
Source: LexisNexis: New Jersey codes cited in article