Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in North Carolina

This question is a little too complicated to answer in this forum. It depends upon what the lawsuit payments would be for ("personal injury", lost wages, etc.), what other assets you have, and what stage the defaulted child support and student loans are at. This is something you need to ask your lawsuit attorney about and also have a specific consultation with a qualified attorney (such as a student loan law attorney or a bankruptcy attorney) BEFORE you get any settlement or payment on your case. Even determining what lawsuit proceeds are for "personal injury" can be a little complicated. Please see an attorney for some advice specific to your situation.

I agree totally with what Attorney Coleman has advised. Some things to consider are: (1) you do not indicate where the child support was entered. If NC, then any winnings that you get from the lawsuit may be factored into a child support obligation. See www.ncchildsupport.com (review the information under child support guidelines - it defines income). It would not be farfetched for the child's mother to take you to court to get increased child support based on you winning your case. You will also have to pay back child support. (2) With student loans, you do not indicate if they are private or through the US DoE/federal. It makes a difference. If they are federal, then income can be garnished administratively and there is no statute of limitations. If private, the loans may be subject to the statute of limitations and the lender can only garnish after recovering a judgment. Depending on how much you get in recovery you may be able to use some of the earnings to resolve the student loan debt in a lump sum.

Bottom line, you need to speak to your personal injury attorney and if necessary get a family law attorney and/or debt collection attorney to advise you on the child support and student loan debts to know what can happen here.