767.71.Reconciling percentage-expressed support orders.

An order for a percentage of gross income is easy to write and impossible to enforce until somebody works out what it came to. This section is that calculation, done as a court proceeding.

Who and what. Where a support order is or was expressed as a percentage of parental income, any party — including the state or the county child support agency where the state is a real party in interest — may request a determination of the amount due. The court may determine it, and may order the agency to reconcile that amount against payments actually made to see whether an arrearage exists.

Starting it. File a notice of reconciliation of account and a supporting affidavit, then serve them on every other party by regular mail to the last-known address, no later than 3 business days after filing. The affidavit must state facts giving a reasonable basis for determining the payer's income over the period. The notice must state the period, the mailing address for requesting a hearing, and a warning that unless a party requests a hearing no later than 20 business days after the date of the notice, the court may go ahead and decide.

With a hearing. Within 10 business days of a timely request the court sets the matter down. At the hearing it establishes the charge by finding how much of the payer's income was subject to the order over the period and applying the ordered percentage. It may also enter a repayment order that takes effect if the reconciliation shows an arrearage.

Without one. If nobody asks for a hearing, the court reviews the affidavit within 60 days of filing, and if it finds a reasonable basis there, may enter the same orders on the papers alone.

Any arrearage the reconciliation reveals is then enforceable in the ordinary way.