Arkansas

Family Law

Family Law

Section 9-14-236 – Arrearages – Child support limited – Limitations period

(a) As used in this section:

(1) “Accrued child support arrearages” means a delinquency owed under a court order or an order of an administrative process established under state law for support of any child or children that is past due and unpaid;
(2) “Action” means any complaint, petition, motion, or other pleading seeking recovery of accrued child support arrearages;
(3) “Initial support order” means the earliest order, judgment, or decree entered in the case by the court or by administrative process that contains a provision for the payment of money for the support and care of any child or children; and
(4) “Moving party” means any of the following:

(A) The custodial parent;
(B) Any person or agency to whom custody of a minor child has been given or relinquished;
(C) The minor child through his or her guardian or next friend;
(D) A person for whose benefit the support was ordered, within five (5) years of obtaining his or her majority; or
(E) The Office of Child Support Enforcement of the Revenue Division of the Department of Finance and Administration when the custodial parent or person to whom custody has been relinquished or awarded is or has been receiving assistance in the form of Aid to Families with Dependent Children or has contracted with the office for the collection of support.
(b) In any action involving the support of any minor child or children, the moving party shall be entitled to recover the full amount of accrued child support arrearages from the date of the initial support order until the filing of the action.
(c) Any action filed pursuant to subsection (b) of this section may be brought at any time up to and including five (5) years beyond the date the child for whose benefit the initial support order was entered reaches eighteen (18) years of age.
(d) No statute of limitation shall apply to an action brought for the collection of a child support obligation or arrearage against any party who leaves or remains outside the State of Arkansas with the purpose to avoid the payment of child support.
(e) This section shall apply to all actions pending as of March 29, 1991, and filed thereafter, and shall retroactively apply to all child support orders now existing.

Ark. Code § 9-14-236

Acts 1989, No. 525, § 1; 1991, No. 870, § 2; 1995, No. 1184, § 14