Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 46-444 – Transfer of support rights; disbursement of support payments

A. In a title IV-D case in which an order of child support has been established and the obligee under the order surrenders physical custody of the child to a caretaker for thirty consecutive days, whether or not there is a custody order, the obligee's right to child support for that child transfers to the caretaker by operation of law and is subject to assignment by the caretaker pursuant to section 46-407. The transfer of the right to child support terminates when the caretaker no longer has physical custody of the child, except for the amount of unpaid child support still owing to the caretaker or to the department.
B. The department may disburse child support payments to a caretaker who has had physical custody of the child for thirty consecutive days or physical custody with the obligee's consent for thirty consecutive days. The department may not disburse monies that have already been disbursed to the obligee in the underlying order. If the department makes disbursements pursuant to this subsection, the department shall begin disbursements on the first day of the month after the expiration of the thirty-consecutive-day period that started on the date the caretaker took custody of the child.
C. The department may retain child support payments assigned by the caretaker on verification that the caretaker is receiving cash assistance for a child subject to a support order and the child support payment is subject to an assignment pursuant to section 46-407.
D. In a title IV-D case in which there has never been an assignment of child support, on determination that physical custody has changed, the department may disburse all child support collected after physical custody has changed to the caretaker.
E. Before the department disburses child support payments to any person other than the obligee, the department shall:
1. 1. Obtain a written statement from the child's caretaker, under penalty of perjury, stating that the caretaker has had physical custody of the child for thirty consecutive days or custody with the obligee's consent for a period of thirty consecutive days. A written statement is not required if there is a court order that places the child with the caretaker.
2. 2. Mail a copy of the caretaker's statement or court order along with a notice of the change in disbursement to the obligor and obligee at the obligor's and obligee's last known addresses.
3. 3. File a copy of the notice of change in disbursement with the clerk of the court that entered the original support order.
F. The obligee, the obligor or any other caretaker may object to the disbursement to the caretaker by requesting an administrative review pursuant to section 25-522 within ten days after the date of the notice. The administrative review is limited to deciding if the caretaker has lawful physical custody of the child or physical custody with the obligee's consent.
G. If the obligee claims that the child remains in the obligee's custody, on a determination that the physical custody is with a caretaker, the department may distribute child support collected to the caretaker.
H. If the existing order for support is a non-title IV-D case, the department may enter its appearance in the case solely to transfer rights to support to a caretaker if both of the following are true:
1. 1. Either the caretaker has applied for title IV-D services or the department has an assignment of rights pursuant to section 46-407.
2. 2. Transfer of the support rights appears appropriate under this section.