The right of a custodial parent to receive child support in California payments from the non-custodial parent continues until the child reaches the age of 18 or 19 if they are still in high school full-time, living with their custodial parent, and unable to support themselves financially. A local California lawyer would be able to provide more information.
Courts order the payment of child support when it is indicated by the child’s best interests standard. In calculating child support, California courts refer to guidelines in California law regarding the amount that is appropriate.
If the non-custodial parent does not pay the full amount of child support that they are required to pay, they accumulate a debt. The debt is the past due child support that the paying parent was required to pay by court order but did not.
Generally, in California, the parent who was supposed to receive the child support when the child was a minor continues to have the right to collect support that is past due after the child becomes an adult. A person who is owed a large amount of unpaid child support would want to consult an attorney about the issue.
In most cases, an adult child does not have legal standing to sue their parent for unpaid child support. Again, the right to sue to collect unpaid child support belongs to the custodial parent who was supposed to receive the support when it was due.
Whether it is legally possible for an adult child to sue for back child support depends on California law. If the parent to whom the debt of unpaid child support is owed should pass away and the child should become the representative of the deceased parent’s estate, then a court would allow the adult child to recover the amount owed for the estate of their deceased parent.
This would be the case if the court appointed the adult child as the estate’s representative. If the child were to be named in the deceased parent’s will as the recipient of an award of past due child support, then the adult child could recover the amount of unpaid child support as their personal asset.
Retroactive child support is something different from past-due child support. Retroactive support is support that a non-custodial parent would pay for a period of time before a child support order is made. For example, in a divorce, a couple might start living separately before the divorce is final. If one parent has custody of their child or children while the divorce is in process, a court may order the non-custodial parent to pay child support for this period of time.
When Is Child Support Owed to an Adult Child?
If the custodial parent has passed away, and the adult child for whom the support was paid has been appointed as the representative of the custodial parent’s estate, the adult child as the representative would have legal standing to sue to collect the back child support for the estate.
In this situation, the amount of the unpaid back support would be owed to the estate of the deceased parent. The adult child only has the legal right to sue because they are the representative of their deceased parent’s estate.
If the adult child were not the representative of the estate, then the person who is the representative would have the right to pursue the non-custodial parent for back-due child support. This assumes, of course, that the legal action would come within the statute of limitations, as discussed below.
An adult child who is disabled, unable to earn a living, and supports themselves may be able to get child support beyond the age of 18 or 19. Such a disabled adult child may be able to receive child support payments directly and even claim past-due child support on their own behalf.
As noted above, child support is normally paid until a child is 18 years old, 19 if the child is still in high school and dependent on their parents financially. The obligation to pay child support comes to an end when the child turns 19 or graduates from high school, whichever happens first.
Some parents choose to extend child support through their child’s college years in a parenting plan on which they have agreed through negotiation or mediation. Some parents may make other stipulations in their settlement to extend child support past the legal age for receiving it.
What Is a Lawsuit for Child Support in Arrears?
A court orders one parent to pay child support to the other in cases in which the parents do not live together with their children for any number of reasons. It might be ordered as part of a divorce.
Generally, the parent who does not have custody pays the parent who does. Or custody might be ordered if the parents share custody, but one parent has greater financial resources than the other.
Usually, child support is paid monthly. If it is not paid when due, it is still owed. A parent might not pay as required by the applicable court order for a long period of time. Again, the debt accumulates with each missed payment.
In California, both parents who receive child support and parents who pay it may turn to the state’s Child Support Services (CSS) agency for help with child support. There are 47 local child support agency offices in the state. They can help a person get an order for child support and enforce child support orders. They also help people with medical support orders.
Either parent or any guardian of a child can open a child support case, whether or not there is an existing child support order, and a case is automatically opened when a child receives public assistance. All case services are handled at this county or regional level, and all child support-related questions should be first routed to the agency in your county or region of residence.
When a person opens a case with California CSS, the agency then has a record of all child support payments. It offers other services as well, including collection of child support that has not been paid. One way to avoid ending up with past due child support is to seek the help of CSS as soon as your child support is not paid on time because CSS can help ensure that support is paid on time.
What Are Some Issues with Lawsuits for Child Support in Arrears?
If a person wants to sue the parent of their child to collect past-due child support, they should be aware of the statute of limitations. This law sets the maximum period of time within which a person may take legal action of some kind.
In California, a claim for past-due child support is subject to a specific statute of limitations of three years. This means that a claim for child support can be made for a maximum retroactive period of three years after the child support has become due and owing.
Another limitation on claims for past-due child support in California is the law that a parent must have 10 years after the child’s 18th birthday to bring a lawsuit. Or, the parent has 10 years after the child’s 19th birthday if the child was in high school when they turned 18. So, a parent who is owed past-due child support may file a lawsuit for past child support until their child is 28 or 29, depending on when the child support obligation ends.
Do I Need to Hire a Lawyer for Help with Unpaid Child Support Issues?
If you have not paid the child support you are required to pay, you want to consult a California child support attorney. Or, if you are a parent who has not received the child support you are owed, you, too, want to consult a California child support attorney.
LegalMatch.com can connect you to an experienced attorney who can analyze your case and help you recover the child support you are owed or manage payment of the child support you are required to pay. You do not want to allow the issue to fester. Get a lawyer’s help today and take the steps that can put the issue to rest.
