Office of Child Support Ex Rel. Lewis v. Lewis

¶ 1. Father appeals from a Windsor Family Court order in favor of the Vermont Office of Child Support requiring him to reimburse the State of Iowa for public assistance paid to his estranged wife on behalf of the parties’ children. We reverse, holding that the family court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the claim in the absence of an Iowa court order establishing the debt and father’s repayment obligation in the first instance.

¶ 2. Father and mother were married in Vermont in 1990 but have not lived together for many years. They have two minor children whom father has not seen since…