23 Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes Chapter 43 - Support Matters Generally

• Chapter Notes

Subchapter A.  General Provisions

• Section 4301 - Scope Of Chapter
  (a) General rule.--Actions or proceedings provided by this chapter are in addition to and not in substitution of actions or proceedings provided by unsuspended...
• Section 4302 - Definitions
  The following words and phrases when used in this chapter shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the context clearly...
• Section 4303 - Information To Consumer Reporting Agency
  Information regarding the name and the amount of arrearages owed by an obligor shall be provided periodically to consumer reporting agencies whenever the obligor...
• Section 4304 - Cooperation Of Commonwealth Agencies (Repealed)
  § 4304. Cooperation of Commonwealth agencies (Repealed). 1996 Repeal. Section 4304 was repealed October 16, 1996, P.L.706, No.124, effective in 60 days.
• Section 4304.1 - Cooperation Of Government And Nongovernment Agencies
  (a) Cooperation of government agencies.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including the provisions of section 731 of the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343,...
• Section 4305 - General Administration Of Support Matters
  (a) Powers and duties.--Subject to any inconsistent general rules and to the supervision and direction of the court, the domestic relations section shall have...
• Section 4306 - Duties Of Title Iv-d Attorney
  (a) General rule.--The county Title IV-D attorney shall at all times aid in the enforcement of the duty of child support and child and...
• Section 4307 - State Income Tax Intercept
  The department shall have the authority to implement a State income tax refund intercept program pursuant to section 466(a)(3) of the Social Security Act...
• Section 4308 - Lottery Winnings Intercept
  (a) Duty of Department of Revenue.--In the case of any person winning more than $2,500 in the Pennsylvania State Lottery, the Department of Revenue...
• Section 4308.1 - Collection Of Overdue Support From Monetary Awards
  (a) General rule.--Overdue support shall be a lien by operation of law against the net proceeds of any monetary award, as defined in subsection...
• Section 4309 - Publication Of Delinquent Support Obligors
  (a) General rule.--Any county, through its domestic relations section, may publish the names of delinquent support obligors who are in arrears 30 days or...

Subchapter B.  Support

• Section 4321 - Liability For Support
  Subject to the provisions of this chapter: (1) Married persons are liable for the support of each other according to their respective abilities to...
• Section 4322 - Support Guideline
  (a) Statewide guideline.--Child and spousal support shall be awarded pursuant to a Statewide guideline as established by general rule by the Supreme Court, so...
• Section 4323 - Support Of Emancipated Child
  (a) Emancipated child.--A court shall not order either or both parents to pay for the support of a child if the child is emancipated....
• Section 4324 - Inclusion Of Spousal Medical Support
  In addition to periodic support payments, the court may require that an obligor pay a designated percentage of a spouse's reasonable and necessary health...
• Section 4325 - Payment Of Order Of Support
  Unless procedures established by the department for the State disbursement unit provide otherwise, an order of support shall direct payment to be made payable...
• Section 4326 - Mandatory Inclusion Of Child Medical Support
  (a) General rule.--In every proceeding to establish or modify an order which requires the payment of child support, the court shall ascertain the ability...
• Section 4327 - Postsecondary Educational Costs
  (a) General rule.--Where applicable under this section, a court may order either or both parents who are separated, divorced, unmarried or otherwise subject to...

Subchapter C.  Proceedings Generally

• Section 4341 - Commencement Of Support Actions Or Proceedings
  (a) Procedure.--A support action or proceeding under this chapter shall be commenced in the manner prescribed by the Rules of Civil Procedure governing actions...
• Section 4342 - Expedited Procedure
  (a) General rule.--The Supreme Court shall by general rule provide for expedited procedures for the determination of paternity and the determination and enforcement of...
• Section 4343 - Paternity
  (a) Determination.--Where the paternity of a child born out of wedlock is disputed, the determination of paternity shall be made by the court in...
• Section 4344 - Contempt For Failure Of Obligor To Appear
  A person who willfully fails or refuses to appear in response to a duly served order or other process under this chapter may, as...
• Section 4345 - Contempt For Noncompliance With Support Order
  (a) General rule.--A person who willfully fails to comply with any order under this chapter, except an order subject to section 4344 (relating to...
• Section 4346 - Contempt For Noncompliance With Visitation Or Partial Custody Order (Repealed)
  § 4346. Contempt for noncompliance with visitation or partial custody order (Repealed). 2010 Repeal. Section 4346 was repealed November 23, 2010, P.L.1106, No.112, effective...
• Section 4347 - Security For Attendance Or Performance
  At any stage of the proceedings under this chapter, upon affidavit filed that the obligor is about to leave this Commonwealth or the judicial...
• Section 4348 - Attachment Of Income
  (a) Existing and certain future orders.--All orders of support existing as of the effective date of this provision, as well as all orders of...
• Section 4349 - Consolidation Of Proceedings
  In order to facilitate frequent and unimpeded contact between children and parents, a judge may consolidate with a support action or proceeding any proceeding...
• Section 4350 - Effect Of Appeal
  An appeal from an order of support entered pursuant to this chapter shall not operate as a supersedeas unless so ordered by the court.
• Section 4351 - Costs And Fees
  (a) General rule.--If an obligee prevails in a proceeding to establish paternity or to obtain a support order, the court may assess against the...
• Section 4352 - Continuing Jurisdiction Over Support Orders
  (a) General rule.--The court making an order of support shall at all times maintain jurisdiction of the matter for the purpose of enforcement of...
• Section 4353 - Duty To Report
  (a) Notice of changes affecting support.--An individual who is a party to a support proceeding shall notify the domestic relations section, the department and...
• Section 4354 - Willful Failure To Pay Support Order
  (a) Offense defined.--An individual who willfully fails to comply with a support order of a court of this Commonwealth when the individual has the...
• Section 4355 - Denial Or Suspension Of Licenses
  (a) General rule.--Except as provided in subsection (d.1), where the domestic relations section or the department has been unable to attach the income of...

Subchapter D.  Proceedings Against Entireties Property

• Section 4361 - Execution Of Support Order Against Entireties Property
  (a) Entry of order.--Whenever married persons hold real property by the entireties and one spouse secures an order of court against the other spouse...
• Section 4362 - Plaintiff's Share Of Proceeds Of Sale
  (a) General rule.--The plaintiff spouse shall be entitled, out of the proceeds of this sale, to such sums of money as represents the share...
• Section 4363 - Trustee To Distribute Proceeds Of Sale
  (a) Appointment of trustee.--The court shall, at the time of the hearing or thereafter, appoint a trustee who shall receive from the sheriff the...
• Section 4364 - Credit To Plaintiff Who Purchases Property
  (a) General rule.--If the plaintiff spouse becomes the purchaser at the execution sale, the plaintiff shall be entitled to a credit on the purchase...
• Section 4365 - Rights Of Divorced Person In Entireties Property Sold For Support
  (a) General rule.--After the divorce of any spouse who is a tenant by the entireties of real property with the former spouse, the divorced...
• Section 4366 - Other Enforcement Remedies Preserved
  This subchapter and other provisions of this chapter do not remove from the plaintiff the rights to any other existing remedies to enforce a...

Subchapter E.  Title IV-D Program and Related Matters

• Section 4371 - Definitions
  The following words and phrases when used in this subchapter shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the context clearly...
• Section 4372 - Establishment Of Title Iv-d Program
  (a) Designation of Title IV-D agency.--The department is the Title IV-D State agency. The department shall create a single and separate organizational unit which...
• Section 4373 - Administration Of Title Iv-d Program
  (a) Parent locator service.--The department shall maintain a parent locator service for the purpose of establishing parentage, for establishing, setting the amount of, modifying...
• Section 4374 - State Disbursement Unit
  (a) Establishment.--The department shall establish and operate a State disbursement unit for collection and disbursement of payments on child support orders consistent with Federal...
• Section 4375 - Access To Records
  (a) Access to be granted.--The secretary or his designees in writing shall have access to all records, and the department in cooperation with all...
• Section 4376 - Central Registry
  (a) Central registry created.--A central registry of records shall be maintained in the department showing, as far as it is known, with respect to...
• Section 4377 - Power To Expedite Support Cases
  (a) Administrative powers.--The department shall have Statewide jurisdiction to issue the following administrative orders to expedite the establishment and enforcement of support on behalf...
• Section 4378 - Assistance Recipients To Seek Support
  (a) Seeking support required.--Prior to authorization, every applicant for assistance whose circumstances include the reported absence of a legally responsible relative from the household...
• Section 4379 - Cooperation Required
  In accordance with a child support plan approved by the Federal Government, the department shall have the power and its duty shall be to:...
• Section 4380 - Enforcement Of Cooperation Requirements
  (a) Cooperation required.--It is essential to the effective and responsible utilization of assistance funds that applicants and recipients who are caretakers of a child...
• Section 4381 - Garnishment Of Wages Of Commonwealth Employees
  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, moneys due from or payable by the Commonwealth, including any agency, instrumentality or authority thereof, due to any...

Subchapter F.  New Hire Reporting

• Section 4391 - Definitions
  The following words and phrases when used in this subchapter shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the context clearly...
• Section 4392 - Employer Reporting
  (a) General rule.--For purposes of enhancing child support enforcement activities, including the location of individuals, the establishment of paternity and the enforcement of child...
• Section 4393 - Use Of Information
  (a) Access to information.--The domestic relations sections and the department shall have access to all information required under this subchapter for purposes of locating...
• Section 4394 - Guidelines
  The Department of Labor and Industry shall develop guidelines for employers to use to determine if an individual qualifies as an employee under this
• Section 4395 - Confidentiality
  All information received pursuant to this subchapter shall be confidential and shall be used only for the purposes set forth herein. A person commits...
• Section 4396 - Penalties
  An employer that fails to report pursuant to this subchapter may be provided a written warning for the first violation and is subject to...

Last modified: October 8, 2016