Section 10-317 - Duties and powers of responding tribunal. - Maryland Statutes

§ 10-317. Duties and powers of responding tribunal.
 

(a)  Duties.- When a responding tribunal of this State receives a complaint or comparable pleading from an initiating tribunal or directly pursuant to § 10-313 of this subtitle, it shall cause the complaint or pleading to be filed and notify the plaintiff where and when it was filed. 

(b)  Powers.- A responding tribunal of this State, to the extent not prohibited by other law, 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, specifying 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 for an obligor who has failed after proper notice to appear at a hearing ordered by the tribunal and enter the bench warrant 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)  Basis for support order.- A responding tribunal of this State shall include in a support order issued under this subtitle, or in the documents accompanying the order, the calculations on which the support order is based. 

(d)  Payment.- A responding tribunal of this State may not condition the payment of a support order issued under this subtitle upon compliance by a party with provisions for visitation. 

(e)  Copy of order.- If a responding tribunal of this State issues an order under this subtitle, the tribunal shall send a copy of the order to the plaintiff and the defendant and to the initiating tribunal, if any. 

(f)  Conversion of foreign currency amount of support order.- If requested to enforce a support order, arrears, or 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 market exchange rate as publicly reported. 
 

[1996, ch. 667, § 2; 1997, ch. 609, § 1; 2008, ch. 522.]