Rule Text
A. A tribunal of this state shall apply Sections 1 through 6 and, as applicable, Section 7, to a support proceeding involving:
(1) A foreign support order;
(2) A foreign tribunal; or
(3) An obligee, obligor, or child residing in a foreign country.
B. A tribunal of this state that is requested to recognize and enforce a support order on the basis of comity may apply the procedural and substantive provisions of Sections 1 through 6.
C. Section 7 applies only to a support proceeding under the Convention. In such a proceeding, if a provision of Section 7 is inconsistent with Sections 1 through 6, Section 7 controls.
Amendment history: Acts 1995, No. 251, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1996; Acts 1997, No. 1241, §1, eff. July 15, 1997; Acts 2015, No. 80, §1, eff. July 1, 2015.
Plain-English Summary (for reference only — not a substitute for the rule text above)
This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.
If your child support case involves someone living in another country, a foreign court order, or a foreign court system, Louisiana courts follow specific rules to handle it. These rules make sure the case is treated fairly and consistently, whether the other person involved lives here or abroad. The court uses the same basic legal steps and standards it would normally use for support cases, applying them to the international situation.
If a court is asked to recognize or enforce a support order from another country simply out of courtesy or cooperation between legal systems (called "comity"), rather than because of a formal treaty, the court can still use these same standard rules and procedures to decide the matter.
There's a special set of rules that only applies when the case falls under an international agreement called the Convention. This applies to certain child support cases between countries that have signed onto this agreement. If the Convention rules conflict with the regular support rules, the Convention rules take priority in cases where the Convention applies.
