Legal Question in Family Law in California
Collection of old child support debt
How do I go about collecting an old child support debt? My ex-husband and I divorced in 1986 when my daughter was 5 and she turned 18 in 1999. I was awarded child support payments, of which he only made a handful of payments over the years. Payments went through the DAs office for a while, but they were never to locate him as he was living out of state. I know he now owns property in another state and I was told I could possibly file a lien against that property. How do I go about doing this and do I need a lawyer to take care of it, or is there a better way of collecting this?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Collection of old child support debt
You could contact the U.S. attorney's office and report the lack of payment of support payments. You will have to have an amount due for support. Because he is in another state it becomes a federal issue. If that is not successful you can file a motion to set arrears. This order would have to be registered in the state in which he resides and a local judgement reocrded according to the laws of that state.