The department must enter a support order in several specified paternity and support-default situations, and ordered parties must keep child support services updated about employer and insurance information.
1. If each party fails to respond to the initial notice within twenty days after the date of service of the notice or fails to appear at a conference pursuant to section 252F.3 on the scheduled date of the conference, and paternity has not been contested and each party fails to timely request a court hearing on the issue of support, the department shall enter an order against the parties, declaring the putative father to be the legal father of the child or children involved and assessing any accrued and accruing child support obligation pursuant to the guidelines established under section 598.21B, and medical support pursuant to chapter 252E. 2. If paternity is contested pursuant to section 252F.3, subsection 6, and the party contesting paternity fails to appear for a paternity test and fails to request a rescheduling pursuant to section 252F.3, or fails to appear for both the initial and the rescheduled paternity tests and each party fails to timely request a court hearing on the issue of support, the department shall enter an order against the parties declaring the putative father to be the legal father of the child or children involved and assessing any accrued and accruing child support obligation pursuant to the guidelines established under section 598.21B, and medical support pursuant to chapter 252E. 3. If a conference pursuant to section 252F.3 is held, and paternity is not contested, and each party fails to timely request a court hearing on the issue of support, the department shall enter an order against the parties after the second notice has been sent declaring the putative father to be the legal father of the child or children involved and assessing any accrued and accruing child support obligation pursuant to the guidelines established under section 598.21B, and medical support pursuant to chapter 252E. 4. If paternity was contested and paternity testing was performed and the putative father was not excluded, if the test results indicate that the probability of the putative father’s paternity is ninety-five percent or greater, if the test results are not timely challenged, and if each party fails to timely request a court hearing on the issue of support, the department shall enter an order against the parties declaring the putative father to be the legal father of the child or children involved and assessing any accrued and accruing child support obligation pursuant to the guidelines established under section 598.21B, and medical support pursuant to chapter 252E. 5. The department shall establish a support obligation under this section based upon the best information available to child support services and pursuant to section 252B.7A. 6. The order shall contain all of the following: a. A declaration of paternity. b. The amount of monthly support to be paid, with direction as to the manner of payment. c. The amount of accrued support. d. The name of the custodial parent or caretaker. e. The name and birth date of the child or children to whom the order applies. f. A statement that property of a party ordered to provide support is subject to income withholding, liens, garnishment, tax offset, and other collection actions. g. The medical support required pursuant to chapter 598 and chapter 252E. h. A statement that a party who is ordered to provide support is required to inform child support services, on a continuing basis, of the name and address of the party’s current employer, whether the party has access to health insurance coverage as required in the order, and if so, the health insurance policy information. i. If paternity was contested by the putative father, the amount of any judgment assessed to the father for costs of paternity tests conducted pursuant to this chapter. j. Statements as required pursuant to section 598.22B. 7. If paternity is not contested but a party does wish to challenge the issues of child or medical support, the department shall enter an order establishing paternity and reserving the issues of child or medical support for determination by the district court. 93 Acts, ch 79, §17; 94 Acts, ch 1171, §33; 97 Acts, ch 175, §85; 2005 Acts, ch 69, §18; 2007 Acts, ch 218, §176, 187; 2008 Acts, ch 1019, §18, 20; 2010 Acts, ch 1142, §3; 2023 Acts, ch 19, §907 Referred to in §252F.3