INSTRUCTIONS TO STAFF 340:25-5-140.1
Revised 7-1-12
1. Orders for support for a prior period are obtained in paternity and notice of support debt cases per OAC 340:25-5-179.1. Support for a prior period is defined per OAC 340:25-1-1.1.
2. Oklahoma Child Support Services (OCSS) staff attempt to calculate interest from the accrual date in the original child support obligation, unless interest has been calculated and included in a judgment provision in a subsequent order. OCSS staff use Form 03EN002E, Affidavit of Child Support Payments Received, to obtain child support payment information from a custodial person.
(1) When OCSS staff do not have information on how a judgment was determined or on the amount of past-due child support accrued prior to when OCSS opened the child support case, OCSS staff mail the Interest Disclosure Notice document to the custodial person to gather this information and determine the calculation period. The Interest Disclosure Notice is available from the OCSS InfoNet Library page.
(2) If the custodial person fails to supply the information within two weeks or the information is not available, OCSS staff update the automated Oklahoma Support Information System (OSIS) with interest balances that have accrued on child support arrearages from the date adequate payment documentation exists. OCSS staff include the amount and time period of the interest accrued on the child support judgment in the child support order.
3. (a) Example 1: Noncustodial parent (NCP) is ordered to pay $150 per month in current child support effective February 1. NCP pays $0 in February and $0 in March. NCP's child support arrears are not in excess of one month's current support until the March payment is missed. Therefore, interest accrues beginning April 1.
(b) Example 2: NCP is ordered to pay $150 per month in current child support effective February 1. NCP pays $75 in February and $75 in March. At the end of March, NCP's child support arrears are not in excess of one month's current support. Therefore, no interest accrues as of April 1. If the NCP does not pay the full child support amount in April, interest will accrue beginning May 1.
4. Any arrearage incurred after the date the servicemember is called to active military service accrues interest at the statutory rate of ten percent.
5. OCSS challenges the six percent interest rate if the servicemember is earning as much income in the military service as in non-military service.
6. See Phillips v. Hedges, 2005 OK 77, that interprets Section 114 of Title 43 of the Oklahoma Statutes as meaning simple interest is applied to delinquent child support payments.
7. When using the one-state process to enforce an order established in another state, it is the responsibility of OCSS staff to calculate interest using the interest rate of the state that established the order, also known as the issuing state.
8. (a) When there is no initiating state, OCSS staff calculate the interest due on all existing child support orders in an action to enforce those arrears, even if the order was entered in another state.
(b) To determine the current applicable interest rate for orders from other states, OCSS staff look in the Support Details section of the Intergovernmental Referral Guide (IRG) on the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) website.
(c) OCSS staff consult with the district office OCSS state's attorney to determine if the interest rate has changed during the period when the arrears accrued.
9. OCSS requests that an Oklahoma court determine the accrued principal and interest and registers that order with the responding state for enforcement when:
(1) Oklahoma asks another state to enforce arrears due under an Oklahoma child support order; and
(2) service of process is obtained on all parties.
10. If the settlement or waiver is silent or ambiguous as to interest, OCSS staff consult the OCSS state's attorney for the steps to determine the intent of the parties as to settlement or waiver of principal and interest arrearage balances. This includes contacting the parties to determine their intent, memorializing the agreement, and may include filing an action to determine the total principal and interest arrearage amount.
11. When using the two-state process in interstate cases, it is the responsibility of the initiating state to calculate whether the noncustodial parent has paid all current support, arrears, and interest under the law of the state that issued the order. [43 O.S. § 601-604]
12. Waiver of interest.
(1) OCSS staff use the legal settlement document on OSIS, Custodial Person's Waiver of Interest in Conjunction with a Settlement.
(2) OCSS staff include in the court order settlement terms of the waiver of interest. The district office OCSS state's attorney must approve all settlements of interest owed to Oklahoma.