Rule 47.1.Simplified Child Support Orders

Rule 47.1 is the streamlined alternative to a full Rule 47 motion where the only issue is temporary child support. It applies unless a local rule provides otherwise.

The four documents

A party seeking a temporary child support order under A.R.S. section 25-315 or 25-817 files a verified Motion for Simplified Temporary Child Support Order, a completed Child Support Worksheet, a proposed Simplified Temporary Child Support Order, and a proposed Income Withholding Order. The proposed orders go out with the motion, so the responding party sees exactly what will be entered.

The warning the motion must carry

The motion must advise the responding party of the requirement to file a timely response and a completed Child Support Worksheet, and must advise that failure to do so may result in the court entering the requested order. The consequence is disclosed on the face of the motion rather than left to be discovered.

Service and response

Service is under Rule 40(f)(1) or Rule 41, with proof of service filed. A response is due within 20 days if the motion was served in Arizona, 30 days if served outside it -- the same intervals Rule 24.1 uses for a petition. The responding party may file a request for hearing at the time of filing the response, served on the moving party under Rule 43.

What happens without opposition

If the responding party does not respond, or the response does not contest the child support requested, the court will not set a hearing. It enters the proposed Simplified Temporary Child Support Order and the Income Withholding Order -- but only if the information supporting the order appears accurate and gives the court adequate information to determine the amount under the Arizona Child Support Guidelines. The court still checks the arithmetic; it does not simply rubber-stamp an unopposed request.

Where a hearing is held, the court must rule no later than 21 days after it concludes -- another of the deadlines Rule 30 gathers.