40-5-242. Notice of support lien -- civil liability upon failure to honor support lien or to comply with warrant for distraint. (1) The department may, at any time after asserting a support lien, serve a notice of the lien on any person, firm, corporation, association, or political subdivision or department of the state in possession of any real or personal property that is due, owing, or belonging to an obligor. For this purpose, personal property includes the obligor's share of a decedent's estate, workers' compensation benefits, and any proceeds or potential proceeds from suits at law. Except as provided in subsections (1)(a) and (1)(b), the department may not impose a lien under this section upon a self-sufficiency trust established pursuant to Title 53, chapter 18, part 1, or upon the assets of a self-sufficiency trust established pursuant to Title 53, chapter 18, part 1.
(a) The department may impose a lien under this section upon a self-sufficiency trust or upon the assets of a self-sufficiency trust established pursuant to Title 53, chapter 18, part 1, if the department is required by federal law to recover or collect from the trust or its assets as a condition of receiving federal financial participation for the child support enforcement program or for temporary assistance for needy families, as defined in 53-4-201.
(b) To the extent otherwise permitted by this section, the department is not precluded from asserting a claim or imposing a lien upon real or personal property prior to transfer of the property to the trust. If the department imposes a lien upon property prior to transfer to a self-sufficiency trust, any transfer of the property to the trust is subject to the lien.
(2) Except as provided in subsection (3), a person or entity is liable to the department in an amount equal to 100% of the value of a support lien or warrant for distraint or the value of real or personal property subject to a support lien or distrained by a warrant for distraint, whichever is less, together with costs, interest, and reasonable attorney fees, if the person or entity:
(a) pays over, releases, sells, transfers, or conveys real or personal property subject to a support lien, to or for the benefit of the obligor, after the person or entity receives actual notice of filing of the support lien; or
(b) fails or refuses to surrender upon demand property of an obligor when presented with a warrant for distraint by a sheriff or levying officer under the provisions of 40-5-247.
(3) A person or entity is not liable to the department under this section when:
(a) a written release or waiver of the support lien or warrant for distraint issued by the department has been delivered to the person or entity;
(b) a determination has been made in an adjudicative proceeding, either administrative or judicial, that a support lien does not exist or that the lien has been satisfied; or
(c) the property subject to a support lien has been transferred to, paid over to, or repossessed by a person or entity holding:
(i) a prior perfected lien;
(ii) a mortgage, the proceeds of which were used by the obligor to purchase real property; or
(iii) a perfected purchase money security interest, as described by 30-9A-301.
History: En. Sec. 18, Ch. 612, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 17, Ch. 549, L. 1989; amd. Sec. 17, Ch. 631, L. 1993; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 262, L. 1997; amd. Sec. 149, Ch. 305, L. 1999; amd. Sec. 6, Ch. 465, L. 2001.
Structure Montana Code Annotated
Chapter 5. Enforcement of Support
Part 2. Administrative Enforcement of Support
40-5-203. Child support enforcement services
40-5-204. Cooperation by obligee
40-5-205. Payment of support money collected to department -- notice
40-5-207. Department authorized to enforce maintenance awards
40-5-208. Medical support -- obligation enforcement
40-5-209. Child support guidelines -- periodic review
40-5-210. Standardized fee schedule -- rules
40-5-213. Financial statements by obligor -- penalty
40-5-214. Scale of suggested minimum contributions
40-5-215. through 40-5-220 reserved
40-5-221. Debt to state by obligor -- limitations
40-5-222. Support debt based upon support order -- notice -- contents -- action to collect
40-5-227. Filing and docketing of final orders -- orders effective as district court decrees
40-5-228. through 40-5-230 reserved
40-5-231. Jurisdiction and venue
40-5-232. Establishment of paternity -- notice of parental responsibility -- contents
40-5-235. Effect of order establishing paternity -- birth records -- relief from order
40-5-238. Confidentiality of paternity hearings and records of proceedings
40-5-239. and 40-5-240 reserved
40-5-243. Release of excess to obligor
40-5-247. Warrant for distraint -- effect -- satisfaction of support lien -- redemption
40-5-249. and 40-5-250 reserved
40-5-251. Debt payment schedule
40-5-252. Interest on debts due -- waiver
40-5-253. Administrative findings and order -- administrative remedies -- judicial review
40-5-254. Statutory limitations
40-5-255. Charging off child support debts as uncollectible -- sale of support debts
40-5-256. Employee debtor rights protected -- limitation
40-5-257. Assignment of earnings to be honored -- effect
40-5-258. through 40-5-260 reserved
40-5-261. Procedures for making information available to consumer reporting agencies
40-5-263. Central clearinghouse -- enforcement services -- powers and duties of the department
40-5-264. Cooperative agreements
40-5-265. through 40-5-270 reserved
40-5-271. Registration of support orders
40-5-272. Application for review of child support orders
40-5-273. Notice of review of child support orders -- order for production of information
40-5-277. Administrative review hearing -- final order -- court approval of order
40-5-278. Limited review of support order
40-5-279. through 40-5-289 reserved