1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to marriage dissolution; requiring accounting 
  1.3             for child support or assistance; amending Minnesota 
  1.4             Statutes 1996, section 518.57, by adding a subdivision.
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 518.57, is 
  1.7   amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.8      Subd. 5.  [ACCOUNTING FOR CHILD SUPPORT OR ASSISTANCE.] 
  1.9   Upon motion by an obligor, the court may require a custodial 
  1.10  parent, under oath, to account for the use or disposition of any 
  1.11  amount of child support or public assistance received by the 
  1.12  custodial parent.  The accounting may be on a monthly, annual, 
  1.13  or other basis as the court shall direct and shall be provided 
  1.14  to the noncustodial parent and filed with the court.  The 
  1.15  accounting must include amounts received from all obligors who 
  1.16  are paying child support to or for the benefit of the custodial 
  1.17  parent.  If the court finds that:  
  1.18     (1) the custodial parent is not using or disposing of the 
  1.19  obligor's support payments for the benefit of the obligor's 
  1.20  children; 
  1.21     (2) the custodial parent is dissipating amounts received as 
  1.22  and for child support; 
  1.23     (3) the custodial parent is subsidizing or supporting a 
  1.24  person who the custodial parent has no legal obligation to 
  1.25  support; 
  2.1      (4) the custodial parent is subsidizing or supporting a 
  2.2   person who the obligor paying the support has no legal 
  2.3   obligation to support; or 
  2.4      (5) the amount of the obligor's child support used or 
  2.5   disposed of by the custodial parent to support the child of the 
  2.6   obligor is less than that actually paid by the obligor for the 
  2.7   support of the obligor's child, the court shall:  
  2.8      (i) reduce or eliminate the obligor's child support 
  2.9   obligation; 
  2.10     (ii) order that the obligor's child support payment be held 
  2.11  by the court or by the obligor in trust for the obligor's child 
  2.12  for future educational or medical purposes; 
  2.13     (iii) order that in lieu of cash child support, in whole or 
  2.14  in part, the obligor shall provide child support in kind such as 
  2.15  the purchase of clothing, food, school supplies, medical care, 
  2.16  or transportation; or 
  2.17     (iv) condition the obligor's child support obligation on 
  2.18  the custodial parent's establishment or enforcement of any right 
  2.19  to support from any other person.