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Texas Family Code - Section 159.305. Duties And Powers Of Responding Tribunal

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§ 159.305. DUTIES AND POWERS OF RESPONDING TRIBUNAL.  (a) 
When a responding tribunal of this state receives a petition or 
comparable pleading from an initiating tribunal or directly under 
Section 159.301(c), the responding tribunal shall cause the 
petition or pleading to be filed and notify the petitioner where and 
when it was filed.
	(b)  Except as prohibited by other law, a responding tribunal 
of this state may do one or more of the following:
		(1)  issue or enforce a support order, modify a child 
support order, determine the controlling child support order, or 
determine parentage;
		(2)  order an obligor to comply with a support order and 
specify the amount and the manner of compliance;
		(3)  order income withholding;                                                
		(4)  determine the amount of any arrearages and specify 
a method of payment;
		(5)  enforce orders by civil or criminal contempt, or 
both;                 
		(6)  set aside property for satisfaction of the support 
order;              
		(7)  place liens and order execution on the obligor's 
property;             
		(8)  order an obligor to keep the tribunal informed of 
the obligor's current residential address, telephone number, 
employer, address of employment, and telephone number at the place 
of employment;
		(9)  issue a bench warrant or capias for an obligor who 
has failed after proper notice to appear at a hearing ordered by the 
tribunal and enter the bench warrant or capias in any local and 
state computer systems for criminal warrants;
		(10)  order the obligor to seek appropriate employment 
by specified methods;
		(11)  award reasonable attorney's fees and other fees 
and costs;  and       
		(12)  grant any other available remedy.                                       
	(c)  A responding tribunal of this state shall include in a 
support order issued under this chapter, or in the documents 
accompanying the order, the calculations on which the support order 
is based.
	(d)  A responding tribunal of this state may not condition 
the payment of a support order issued under this chapter on 
compliance by a party with provisions for visitation.
	(e)  If a responding tribunal of this state issues an order 
under this chapter, the tribunal shall send a copy of the order to 
the petitioner and the respondent and to the initiating tribunal, 
if any.
	(f)  If requested to enforce a support order, arrearages, or 
a judgment or to modify a support order stated in a foreign 
currency, a responding tribunal of this state shall convert the 
amount stated in the foreign currency to the equivalent amount in 
dollars under the applicable official or market exchange rate as 
publicly reported.

Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 20, § 1, eff. April 20, 1995.  
Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 607, § 9, eff. Sept. 1, 
1997;  Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1247, § 16, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.

Last modified: August 11, 2007