(1) Except as otherwise provided in this part, 40-5-1021 through 40-5-1039 apply to all proceedings under this part.
(2) An individual petitioner or a support enforcement agency may initiate a proceeding authorized under this part by filing a petition in an initiating tribunal for forwarding to a responding tribunal or by filing a petition or a comparable pleading directly in a tribunal of another state or a foreign country that has or can obtain personal jurisdiction over the respondent.