In Re Marriage of Ryall

In this appeal from a judgment entered in an action brought under the Revised Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act (RURESA) in Kern County Superior Court, the sole question presented is whether the trial court had jurisdiction to make orders concerning visitation and a tax deduction in a RURESA proceeding.

Facts

Linda Susan and Charles Ryall were married in Florida. Two children were born to the marriage and the parties were divorced. Included in the Florida dissolution order was a property settlement agreement and an agreement concerning custody of the children. The dissolution order specified the following:

The clerk of the Circuit Court of Orange County, Florida, transmitted wife’s petition under RURESA to Kern County where the petition was filed. Wife submitted written testimony to the court, alleging that child support payments were in arrears in the amount of $482 as of October 1981, and that husband had made no child support payments since August 1981.

After the Kern County Superior Court issued an order to show cause, husband retained counsel and filed a responsive declaration claiming that he had been deprived of visitation and requesting specific…