My fiancee currently owes about $6,000 in back child support , California
Posted on : 11-06-2009 | By : Legal Information | In : Bankruptcy & Debt, Wills & Estates
Tags: california child support, Child Support, Inheritance, wills
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My fiancee currently owes about $6,000 in back child support (accumulated when he was on disability for 6 months.) His grandfather recently passed away, and he may be receiving an inheritance. He has been on unemployment for the past year, and is garnished for child support from each check for current support, no back support. Can his ex wife come after him for back child support in full? What if the inheritance is small, between $5,000 and $10,000…can she legally be granted every penny? Or are there laws in CA restricting how much she can take (like 40 percent?) Thanks for your help.
Dear Ma’am,
In California Except as otherwise provided by law, all property of the judgment debtor is subject to enforcement of a money judgment. This means that his ex wife can come after him for back child support in full if she has a judgment and the inheritance is attachable.
There are certain assets that are exempt from collection efforts. To determine if your fiancee’s inheritance is exempt, you will need to determine the source of the inheritance.
If the inheritance is not exempt from collection then any amount of the inheritance up to the amount owed in back support can be seized.
To begin, this back child support problem is not going to go away for your fiance and it is in his best interest (not to mention the fact that these are his children he is not supporting!) to pay it. The inheritance is fair game and his ex-wife is entitled to collect the amount due to her. I also want to let you know that his failure to pay back child support is effecting his credit and other things that may, in the long run, also negatively effect you.
http://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/unpaid-child-support-affecting-credit.html