Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California
I am a 39 year old female with both parents being deceased. My father never paid my mother court ordered child suppoet. We struggled all through my adolescent years. When my father passed away approx 12 years ago he had no known assets and in fact was in severe debt. Recently I have been contacted about an inheritance to oil property in Utah. I have been told that 1/2 my fathers inheritance goes to his surviving spouse and 1/2 to his surviving children. My question is...can I put a lien on the portion of my father's inherited property for the amount of past due child support?
3 Answers from Attorneys
Yes, but it will involve probating your mother's estate and you being appointed executor thereof, so that you can act on her behalf, so to speak, in collecting the unpaid support. Then you would have to register the judgment for the unpaid support in Utah prior to the surviving spouse receiving her interest. otherwise the judgment lien will not attach to the other half interest.
I generally agree with Mr. Seidler. I think you need to probate your father's estate, not your mother's, however. Your back child support should come out of that estate before any distribution to his spouse or children. You need to move quickly. Find an attorney right away.
I agree with Mr. McCormick. You will need to file a Probate action against your father's estate. Since the property is located in Utah, a Probate action would need to be filed there. In California, the courts would take judicial notice of a court order, such as a child support order, from another jurisdiction. Utah likely has similar requirements. If your father's estate has already been probated in California, then you would need to file an ancillary Probate in Utah. Its best if you act before any distribution of this asset is made, so you need legal representation as soon as possible.
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