42-369. Support or alimony; presumption; items includable; payments; disbursement; enforcement; health care coverage.

(1) All orders, decrees, or judgments for temporary or permanent support payments, including child, spousal, or medical support, and all orders, decrees, or judgments for alimony or modification of support payments or alimony shall direct the payment of such sums to be made commencing on the first day of each month for the use of the persons for whom the support payments or alimony have been awarded. Such payments shall be made to the clerk of the district court (a) when the order, decree, or judgment is for spousal support, alimony, or maintenance support and the order, decree, or judgment does not also provide for child support, and (b) when the payment constitutes child care or day care expenses, unless payments under subdivision (1)(a) or (1)(b) of this section are ordered to be made directly to the obligee. All other support order payments shall be made to the State Disbursement Unit. In all cases in which income withholding has been implemented pursuant to the Income Withholding for Child Support Act or sections 42-364.01 to 42-364.14, support order payments shall be made to the State Disbursement Unit. The court may order such payment to be in cash or guaranteed funds.

(2)(a) If the party against whom an order, decree, or judgment for child support is entered or the custodial party has health care coverage available to him or her through an employer, organization, or other health care coverage entity which may extend to cover any children affected by the order, decree, or judgment and the health care coverage is accessible to the children and is available to the responsible party at reasonable cost, the court shall require health care coverage to be provided. Health care coverage is accessible if the covered children can obtain services from a plan provider with reasonable effort by the custodial party. When the administrative agency, court, or other tribunal determines that the only health care coverage option available through the noncustodial party is a plan that limits service coverage to providers within a defined geographic area, the administrative agency, court, or other tribunal shall determine whether the child lives within the plan's service area. If the child does not live within the plan's service area, the administrative agency, court, or other tribunal shall determine whether the plan has a reciprocal agreement that permits the child to receive coverage at no greater cost than if the child resided in the plan's service area. The administrative agency, court, or other tribunal shall also determine if primary care is available within thirty minutes or thirty miles of the child's residence. For the purpose of determining the accessibility of health care coverage, the administrative agency, court, or other tribunal may determine and include in an order that longer travel times are permissible if residents, in part or all of the service area, customarily travel distances farther than thirty minutes or thirty miles. If primary care services are not available within these constraints, the health care coverage is presumed inaccessible. If health care coverage is not available or is inaccessible and one or more of the parties are receiving Title IV-D services, then cash medical support shall be ordered. Cash medical support or the cost of health care coverage is considered reasonable in cost if the cost to the party responsible for providing medical support does not exceed three percent of his or her gross income. In applying the three-percent standard, the cost is the cost of adding the children to existing health care coverage or the difference between self-only and family health care coverage. Cash medical support payments shall not be ordered if, at the time that the order is issued or modified, the responsible party's income is or such expense would reduce the responsible party's net income below the basic subsistence limitation provided in Nebraska Court Rule section 4-218. If such rule does not describe a basic subsistence limitation, the responsible party's net income shall not be reduced below nine hundred three dollars net monthly income for one person or below the poverty guidelines updated annually in the Federal Register by the United States Department of Health and Human Services under the authority of 42 U.S.C. 9902(2).

(b) For purposes of this section:

(i) Health care coverage has the same meaning as in section 44-3,144; and

(ii) Cash medical support means an amount ordered to be paid toward the cost of health care coverage provided by a public entity or by another parent through employment or otherwise or for other medical costs not covered by insurance or other health care coverage.

(3) A support order, decree, or judgment may include the providing of necessary shelter, food, clothing, care, medical support as defined in section 43-512, medical attention, expenses of confinement, education expenses, funeral expenses, and any other expense the court may deem reasonable and necessary.

(4) Orders, decrees, and judgments for temporary or permanent support or alimony shall be filed with the clerk of the district court and have the force and effect of judgments when entered. The clerk and the State Disbursement Unit shall disburse all payments received as directed by the court and as provided in sections 42-358.02 and 43-512.07. Records shall be kept of all funds received and disbursed by the clerk and the unit and shall be open to inspection by the parties and their attorneys.

(5) Unless otherwise specified by the court, an equal and proportionate share of any child support awarded shall be presumed to be payable on behalf of each child subject to the order, decree, or judgment for purposes of an assignment under section 43-512.07.

Source

Cross References

Annotations

Under subsection (4) of this section, alimony judgments are liens, and if the judgments precede a mortgage and are recorded, they will have priority over that mortgage. McCook Nat. Bank v. Myers, 243 Neb. 853, 503 N.W.2d 200 (1993).

Subsection (4) of this section applied in a situation where the decree is silent with respect to accrued, unpaid temporary child support. Dartmann v. Dartmann, 14 Neb. App. 864, 717 N.W.2d 519 (2006).

Pursuant to subsection (2) of this section, in a divorce case, a judge may not order both parties to provide health insurance for the child or children, but must direct which party shall provide such insurance. Ward v. Ward, 7 Neb. App. 821, 585 N.W.2d 551 (1998).

Expenses incurred in obtaining medical care for a child, including allowances for mileage and meals, may be included in a support order if the court finds such expenses are reasonable and necessary. The expenses cannot be applied retroactively to the application for modification of the order for support. Hoover v. Hoover, 2 Neb. App. 239, 508 N.W.2d 316 (1993).