Montana Title 40. Family Law § 40-5-291. Order to seek employment

(1) In a proceeding under this chapter to enforce a support order, if an obligor claims inability to pay support because of unemployment or underemployment, the department may order the obligor to seek suitable employment and make progress reports on that activity to the department unless the obligor proves by a preponderance of the evidence that:

(2) The seek-work order must direct the obligor to:

(3) The order is effective for 6 months or until the obligor finds work, whichever occurs first.

(4) Failure to report or otherwise comply with a seek-work order, absent good cause, is evidence of willful nonpayment of child support for which the obligor may be determined to have committed the offense of nonsupport under 45-5-621 or may be held in civil contempt under Title 40, chapter 5, part 6. The department may enforce the order as provided in 40-5-226.

(5) For the purpose of this section, “suitable employment” is employment commensurate with the obligor's education, training, professional or occupational qualifications, job skills, work history, and the availability of employment opportunities in the community, or in the absence of commensurate employment available within a reasonable range of the obligor's area of residence, suitable employment is any employment that the obligor is capable of performing.