Clark v. Clark (Nebraska 2018)

The Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA) gives a court with proper subject matter and personal jurisdiction the ability to determine a controlling child support order. The father in this case was subject to two child support orders, one from Wisconsin and one from Nebraska. He filed a petition requesting a Nebraska district court vacate and modify the Nebraska order. He later amended the petition to request a determination of controlling order The district court dismissed the petition, finding that it was without jurisdiction to make the determination and that it didn’t have enough evidence to make the determination. The appellate court reversed the decision and found that UIFSA provides for this very situation. UIFSA gives the court subject matter jurisdiction to enforce a child support order of the state. The court also had personal jurisdiction over these parties. The father was a resident of the Nebraska. The mother, a non-resident, responded to the pleading by mailing a document to the court, and in doing so, subjected herself to jurisdiction. The court further noted that UIFSA authorizes courts of different states to communicate with each other to resolve these cases. The Nebraska court can contact Wisconsin to obtain any evidence necessary to resolve the issue.