Support money owed state due, when, failure to pay within time limit, rights of family services

454.450. Support money owed state due, when, failure to pay within time limit, rights of family services — agreements for collection of support, invalid, when, fee allowed person making collection, when, amount — depriving division of support payments, penalty. — 1. Whenever a custodian of a child, or other person, receives support moneys paid to him or her, which moneys are paid in whole or in part in satisfaction of a support obligation which is owed to the family support division under subsection 2 of section 454.465, or which has been assigned to the family support division under subsection 2 of section 208.040, the moneys shall be remitted to the department of social services within ten days of receipt by such custodian or other person. If not so remitted, such custodian or other person shall be indebted to the department in an amount equal to the amount of the support money received and not remitted. By not paying over the moneys to the department, such custodian or other person is deemed, without the necessity of signing any document, to have made an irrevocable assignment to the family support division of any support delinquency owed which is not already assigned to the family support division or to any support delinquency which may accrue in the future in an amount equal to the amount of the support money retained. The department may utilize any available administrative or legal process to collect the assigned delinquency to effect recoupment and satisfaction of the debt incurred by reason of the failure of such custodian or other person to remit. The department is also authorized to make a setoff to effect satisfaction of the debt by deduction from support moneys in its possession or in the possession of any clerk of the court or other forwarding agent which would otherwise be payable to such custodian or other person for the satisfaction of any support delinquency. Nothing in this section authorizes the department to make a setoff as to current support paid during the month for which the payment is due and owing.

2. A custodian of a child, or other person, who has made an assignment of support rights to the family support division shall not make any agreement with any private attorney or other person regarding the collection of assigned support obligations without approval of the department of social services. If any private attorney or other person who in good faith and without knowledge of such assignment collects all or part of the assigned support obligations, any agreement regarding the distribution of the proceeds of the assigned support obligations by such private attorney or other person shall not bind the department; provided, however, the department shall be liable to such private attorney or other person for a fee computed in accordance with subsection 3 of this section. When a private attorney or other person has begun to collect a support obligation, and thereafter a notice of assignment of support rights to the division is filed with the court pursuant to section 454.415, notice of such assignment shall be given to that attorney or other person as provided by supreme court rule 43.01.

3. (1) Where an assignment of support rights has been made to the family support division but notice of such assignment was not filed with the court pursuant to section 454.415, a private attorney who in good faith and without knowledge of such assignment collects all or part of such assigned support obligation shall be awarded by the department a fee of twenty-five percent of the support obligation collected. Such fees shall be paid out of state funds in lieu of federal funds.

(2) Where an assignment of support rights has been made to the family support division and notice of the assignment was not filed with the court pursuant to section 454.415 until after the private attorney has begun collection proceedings, a private attorney who collects assigned support obligations shall be awarded a fee, as the court shall determine, based upon the time expended, but in no event shall the fee exceed twenty-five percent of the support obligation collected.

(3) Where no assignment of support rights has been made to the family support division until after the private attorney has collected any part of the support obligation, no recoupment shall be had by the department of the portion collected, and the fee awarded to the private attorney or other person shall be the fee negotiated between the client and the private attorney or other person.

4. A person commits the crime of stealing, as defined by section 570.030, if such person takes, obtains, uses, transfers, conceals, or retains possession of child support payments which have been assigned to the family support division with the purpose to deprive the division thereof, either without the consent of the division or by means of deceit or coercion.