Section YAE.09.04 — Definitions

(a) Administrative enforcement actions" means actions authorized by federal regulations which are taken to enforce a child support order without obtaining an order from the Court Additionally, administrative enforcement actions means all enforcement actions authorized through the KIDS system and those specifically set forth in Section YAE.09.14 of this Ordinance.

(b) "Alternative Payment Plan" means a negotiated agreement between a child support agency and a Payor, or an order set by the court, which establishes terms for the payment of the arrearage debt.

(c) "Arrears" means the amount of money the Payor has not paid pursuant to the most recent child support court order. Arrears does not include birth expenses imposed by a state or other Tribe.

(d) "Child" means the natural or adopted child under the age of eighteen (18) years old, or the age of nineteen (19) years if attending an accredited course to obtain a high school diploma or high school equivalency and resides with the custodial parent.

(e) "Child Support Manager" means the person in charge of the day to day operation of the Agency.

(f) "Child Support Order" means a Stockbridge-Munsee court order, or other court order from a court of competent jurisdiction relating to payment of child support.

(g) "Court" means the Stockbridge-Munsee Tribal Court as established by the Stockbridge-Munsee Tribal Law.

(h) "Court Order" means a Tribal Court Order or a valid Court Order of a court of competent jurisdiction.

(i) "Custodial Party" means the person who has had placement of the child, whether by voluntary agreement or by Court Order.

(j) "Disposable Income" means gross pay minus mandatory deductions. Disposable income is the amount that is left after subtracting mandatory deductions from gross pay. Mandatory deductions include federal, state and local taxes; unemployment insurance; workers' compensation insurance; state employee retirement deductions; and other deductions determined by state law. Health insurance premiums may be included in a state's mandatory deductions; they are mandatory deductions for federal employees. The Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA) limits the amount of disposable earnings which may be withheld to 60% of the payer's disposable earnings per pay period, or up to 50% of the payer's disposable earnings per pay period if the payer is supporting a second family. Wisconsin's income withholding statute prohibits withholding at a level that would leave the payer below the poverty line.

(k) "Duty to support" means an obligation imposed or imposable by law or by order, decree, or judgment of any court, whether incidental to an action for divorce separation, separate to provide support for child(ren).

(l) "Guardian or Conservator" means a person who looks after and is legally responsible for someone who is unable to manage their own affairs, especially an incompetent or disabled person or a child whose parents have died or do not have the ability to parent their child. For purposes of this Ordinance, the guardian or conservatorship must be court-ordered and the order must show the length of time for which the guardianship has been granted.

(m) Gross Income" means the income of a parent before any taxes, loans or other deductions are made.

(1) Gross income shall include the following:

(A) Salaries and wages, including bonuses;

(B) Interest and investment income;

(C) Social Security disability and or social security retirement benefits BUT NOT Supplemental Security Income or "SSI," which is a needs based federal benefit that is expressly exempted from child support garnishment and income withholding;

(D) Net proceeds from worker's compensation or other personal injury awards;

(E) Unemployment benefits;

(F) Voluntary deferred compensation, including pension and profit-sharing plans;

(G) Military and veteran benefits;

(H) Undistributed income of a business, partnership or corporation; and

(I) All other income, whether taxable or not, including per capita and Tribal bonuses in accordance with applicable laws.

(2) Gross income does not include:

(A) TANF, food stamp or other monetary general assistance;

(B) Foster care or kinship care;

(D) Child Support for other children but shall be calculated by the Court into the record in accordance with Section YAE.09.07(f).

(n) "Judge" means a Stockbridge-Munsee Community Judge.

(o) "In-Kind Contributions" means non-monetary payment to a non-assignable child support obligation owed to a payee. In-Kind contributions may include goods or services provided by the payor. In-Kind contributions shall be assigned a whole dollar amount, be based on the current market value of the services, be agreed upon by both the custodial and non-custodial parties and must be approved by the Tribal Court.

(p) "Interested party" means a person or entity who has an interest in a legal proceeding. For purposes of this Ordinance, the Agency shall be deemed an interested party in all actions affecting the family where minor children are involved.

(q) "Income imputed based on earning capacity" means the amount of income that exceeds the parent's actual income and represents the parent's ability to earn, based on the parent's education, training and recent work experience, earnings during previous periods, current physical and mental health, history of child care responsibilities as the parent with primary physical placement, and the availability of work in or near the parent's community.

(r) "Income imputed from assets" means the amount of income ascribed to assets that are unproductive and to which income has been diverted to avoid paying child support or from which income is necessary to maintain the child or children at the standard of living they would have if they were living with both parents, and that exceeds the actual income from the assets.

(s) "Income modified for business expenses" means the amount of income after adding wages paid to dependent household members, adding undistributed income that the Family court determines is not reasonably necessary for the growth of the business, and subtracting business expenses that the Family Court determines are reasonably necessary for the production of that income or operation of the business and that may differ from the determination of allowable business expenses for tax purposes.

(t) "Intact family" means a family in which the child or children and the obligor reside in the same household and the obligor shares his or her income directly with the child or children and has a legal obligation to support the child or children.

(u) "Parent" means the biological or adopted person of a minor child.

(v) "Per Capita Payment" shall mean those payments made or distributed to all enrolled tribal members paid directly from the net revenues of the Tribe.

(w) "Payee" or "Obligee" means the parent, legal guardian or agency which is the recipient of child support.

(x) "Payor" or "Obligor" means the party who is responsible to pay child support.

(y) "Resident" means an individual who has a primary residence on federal trust land held in trust for the benefit of the Stockbridge-Munsee Community.

(z) "Serial parent" means a parent who has prior child support orders or a duty to support.

(aa) "Tribal Child Support Agency" or "Agency" means the Stockbridge-Munsee Tribal Child Support Agency.

(bb) "Tribal Member" means enrolled member of the Stockbridge-Munsee Community, Band of Mohican Indians.

(cc) "Tribal Treasurer" means the duly elected Treasurer of the Stockbridge-Munsee Tribal Council.