Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
2 senses
A person to whom an obligation is owed. The term includes a promisee or creditor entitled to performance of a duty.
Under the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, any person to whom a duty of support is owed.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
A person to whom an obligation is owed. The term includes a promisee or creditor entitled to performance of a duty.
Nexxus Products supplies goods to Sally Beauty under a distribution contract. When Sally Beauty attempts to assign its rights as obligee to a third party, the court examines whether the assignment would materially alter the obligor's performance expectations under the agreement.
Under the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, any person to whom a duty of support is owed.
Maria remains in State H with the child after Hank relocates to State J. When Hank seeks to reduce the existing support order in State J, the court determines that State H retains authority because Maria, the obligee, still resides there at the time of filing. The obligee's continued residence therefore keeps the original tribunal's power intact.
After both parents leave State A, Priya and Malik file a recorded consent allowing State A to retain modification power over the support order. The obligee's consent in the record permits the original tribunal to continue exercising jurisdiction even though neither the obligee nor the child resides there anymore.
A plaintiff files a replevin action and posts a bond naming the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as obligee. The bond secures the obligee's right to recover the property's value if the plaintiff fails to prove its claim of possession.
After the mother's death, her children seek damages for her wrongful death as obligees under Louisiana law. The statute designates the surviving children as obligees who inherit the right to recover for the harm done to their mother.
The original obligee transfers its right to receive performance to an assignee. The obligee's assignment is effective unless the contract prohibits it or the assignment would materially change the obligor's duty or increase its burden.
No. Neither delegation nor an assumption agreement discharges the delegating obligor's liability to the obligee unless the obligee agrees to the release. The obligee retains the right to enforce the original contract against the party with whom it dealt.
A California mother seeks to enforce a New York support order against a father who never visited the state. The obligee argues that the father's minimal contacts suffice for jurisdiction, but the Court holds that the obligee's unilateral move cannot create jurisdiction over the nonresident obligor.
The Act defines an obligee as any person to whom a duty of support is owed, including the child or the individual entitled to receive payments under a support order. This definition controls registration and enforcement proceedings across states.
A tribunal retains continuing exclusive jurisdiction to modify its order when the obligee or the child still resides in the issuing state at the time a modification request is filed. The obligee's residence therefore prevents another state from assuming modification authority absent consent.
Yes. Even if the obligee no longer resides in the issuing state, the parties may consent in a record or in open court that the original tribunal may continue to modify the order. That recorded consent preserves the issuing state's jurisdiction.
…In addition to California, 24 other States are signatories to this Act. 9 U. L. A. 473 (Supp. 1978). Under the Act, an "obligee" may file a petition in a court of his or her State (the "initiating court") to obtain support. 9 U. L. A. §§ 11, 14 (1973). If the court "finds that the [petition] sets forth facts from…