40-5-173. Costs and fees. - Montana Statutes

     40-5-173. Costs and fees. (1) The petitioner may not be required to pay a filing fee or other costs to initiate a proceeding under this part.
     (2) If an obligee prevails, a responding tribunal may assess against an obligor the filing fees, reasonable attorney fees, other costs, and necessary travel and other reasonable expenses incurred by the obligee and the obligee's witnesses. Except as provided by other law, the tribunal may not assess fees, costs, or expenses against the obligee or the support enforcement agency of either the initiating or the responding state. Attorney fees may be taxed as costs and may be ordered paid directly to the attorney, who may enforce the order in the attorney's own name. Payment of current support owed to the obligee has priority over fees, costs, and expenses.
     (3) The tribunal shall order the payment of costs and reasonable attorney fees if it determines that a hearing was requested primarily for delay. In a proceeding under 40-5-184 through 40-5-195, a hearing is presumed to have been requested primarily for delay if a registered support order is confirmed or enforced without change.

     History: En. Sec. 27, Ch. 328, L. 1993; amd. Sec. 131, Ch. 546, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 34, Ch. 552, L. 1997; amd. Sec. 9, Ch. 352, L. 2001.