§ 518.001

In re the Marriage of: Carol Lee D'Costa v. Joseph Francis D'Costa · 2016 1 citation

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State, County of Clay Ex Rel. Hendrickson v. Hendrickson · 1987 2 citations

I. Minn. Stat. § 256.87 provides that if there is no outstanding support order, a county may bring an action to require a parent to pay at least a portion of AFDC expended over a two-year period, depending on the parent's ability to pay. Minn. Stat. § 256.87, subd. 1 (1984). Minn. Stat. §§ 518.001-518.67 govern marriage dissolution proceedings and § 518.64 deals specifically with modifications of support orders. Appellant argues that since a dissolution decree is final and may be re-opened only upon motion, and support modified only after the required § 518.64 findings are made, an order for reimbursement under § 256.87 wrongly erodes the finality of the dissolution judgment and cannot properly be granted by the court without a full hearing of the kind required under § 518.64. Appellant misconstrues the nature of a § 256.87 motion for reimbursement. Section 256.87 has been identified as a cause of action totally separate from child support orders, available to the county for the purpose of recovering a portion of past assistance granted. County of Anoka v. Richards, 345 N.W.2d 263, 266-67 (Minn.Ct.App.1984); see Maskrey v. Maskrey, 380 N.W.2d 598, 601 (Minn.Ct. App.1986). An order for reimbursement under § 256.87 is an additional remedy available to the county if it has advanced public assistance for a child, and it is not a modification of a child support award under § 518. Isanti County v. Formhals, 358 N.W.2d 703, 705 (Minn.Ct.App.1984). The court is authorized by statute to grant a motion for ongoing reimbursement upon motion by the county and evaluation of the requisite factors. Clearly, the court had jurisdiction to order reimbursement pursuant to § 256.87 and was in no way barred from doing so by the existence of a final dissolution judgment and decree.

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