Richards

Defendant Carl Nephi Gibson (hereafter appellant or Carl) appeals from the trial court’s order awarding child support to petitioner Lenice Renee Richards (hereafter respondent or Lenice) and $2,800 arrears in favor of copetitioner Utah State Department of Social Services (hereafter State of Utah) in an action brought under the Revised Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act of 1968 (Code Civ. Proc., § 1650 et seq.; hereafter URESA). The facts pertinent to the present appeal may be set out as follows:

Carl and Lenice are ex-spouses. They were married in Ely, Nevada, on October 17, 1956, and divorced in 1964. The interlocutory decree of divorce rendered by a district court in Utah gave the custody of the three minor children (Annette, Timonthy and David) to Lenice, and ordered appellant father to pay child support in the sum of $50 per month for each child. Appellant moved to California. Subsequently both Carl and Lenice remarried.

A substantial new development occurred in the year 1973. Respondent experienced marital problems with her new husband. Thereupon, the two minor children, Timothy and David, left their mother and settled down with their father in…