A woman in California whose daughter is now grown recently stated that she hopes her story gives others confidence to pursue legal claims if their former spouses fail to adhere to court orders in divorce. She and her husband divorced in 1969 and one year later, a judge ordered him to pay child support. The only problem is that his payments were nearly 50 years overdue until his former wife recently brought her ex back to court.
The woman says when the order was first issued, her ex was supposed to pay $210 for a couple of years, then $160 per month after that, until their daughter reached age 18. The first check reportedly was no good and sometime after that, the man moved out of the country and started a family with someone else. The woman said she recently realized that there is no statute of limitations on child support in this state.
A California attorney represented the woman regarding the long overdue child support. He said his client was quite pleased that the judge overseeing the case granted her request to pursue recovery of back child support. In the midst of a court hearing, the parties reached a settlement. Her ex will be sending a lump sum, followed by monthly payments until he has paid $150,000.
There are certain circumstances where stopping child support payments might be okay; however, it requires the court’s permission to do so. A person who willfully disregards an existing court order may be held in contempt. Any parent concerned with issues regarding unpaid spousal or child support after divorce may want to take similar action as this woman did to rectify the situation through the family justice system.