Legal Question in Family Law in California
My 78 year old mother is selling her home of 49 years. She and my father devorced in 1975 and she was ordered to pay him "$12,500 without interest payable upon sale of said property after the minor child reaches 18 years of age." My father never pressed the award, and passed away in 1995. Now this lien has presented itself while the house is now in escrow. My father did remarry in 1984 and was still married when he passed. We were told he did not have a will (although he told my sisters and I differently). Does his second wife have a right to this money? Or does Calif statute of limitations have a play here before my father remarried?
2 Answers from Attorneys
I see some issues in your post. Some of the issues are not easy to determine because you don't provide enough information. It sounds as though an equalization payment was due your father, and that may have been his separate property. But you don't make it clear whether he left a will, which may have a clause that specifically distributes that money, or it may pass as residue. If there is no will, the property (money) passes by intestate succession.
If this can't be resolved, the escrow company may have to interplead the funds, with all of you litigating claims to it.
There is no statute of limitations on a judgment. Civil judgments expire unless renewed after ten years. I'm not sure that applies to family law judgments, however.
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