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-   -   After death of NON custodial parent, what happens to child support? (https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/showthread.php?t=446708)

  • Feb 13, 2010, 03:37 PM
    o2bmeagn
    After death of NON custodial parent, what happens to child support?
    What happens to child support payments when non custodial parent dies? Are they automatically forgiven ?
  • Feb 13, 2010, 04:10 PM
    twinkiedooter

    No. The child support payments relate to the child not the parent who has custody. They are still owed until the child reaches 18 or whatever other arrangement was in place on paper by the Court.
  • Feb 13, 2010, 05:16 PM
    cdad
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by o2bmeagn View Post
    what happens to child support payments when non custodial parent dies? are they automatically forgiven ?

    Yes and no. The payments end. For obvious reasons. The arrears stay until satisfied by the estate. If there is no money to pay arrears then it's a loss. So in effect it is forgiven. There are no future payments.
  • Feb 14, 2010, 09:50 AM
    stinawords

    Calif is dead on. Current payments stop for obvious reasons. Any arrears that have added up will be collected from the estate as well as any other debts left. If there is not enough to cover all of the arrears then the rest will be written off as a loss because there just wasn't enough to cover it. The debt will not be transferred to another person because the ncp was the only one responsible for paying.
  • Feb 14, 2010, 02:06 PM
    Fr_Chuck

    If there is money in the estate, the custody parent can make a claim for any past support and ask that a trust be set up to pay the obligations of the support order.

    That is assuming they owned property and had money in the bank

    If the person who died had nothing, then there is nothing to get
  • Feb 14, 2010, 02:54 PM
    cdad
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Fr_Chuck View Post
    If there is money in the estate, the custody parent can make a claim for any past support and ask that a trust be set up to pay the obligations of the support order.

    That is assuming they owned property and had money in the bank

    If the person who died had nothing, then there is nothing to get

    I hate to disagree but the child support stops with the death of the parent. There would be no trust to set up for future payments. The only thing at that point would be the settlement of arrears.
  • Feb 15, 2010, 08:17 AM
    stinawords

    While I agree with calif that future support stops with the death of the ncp. If they indeed had a great deal of money left over after all of their debts were paid and there was no will to dictate how things be divided then yes a trust may be established for the child as the only one that could possibly get an inheritance.
  • Feb 15, 2010, 08:45 AM
    this8384

    I don't think anyone else mentioned it, but if the non-custodial parent passed away, the children(and possibly ex-spouse) may be eligible to receive Social Security benefits.
  • Mar 14, 2012, 06:29 PM
    rogerb47
    Well I have a life threatening health condition and in Illinois it doesn't matter to the Child Support Services. Straight out I was told to pay whether in the hospital, under the knife or on my death bed I owe and owe, no forgiveness offered or implied. The State, states I owe regardless period. I have already had my bank account seized, drivers license threatened, threatened to be thrown in jail regardless how much I state I could pass away suddenly if I cannot take care of my illnesses. The State still does not care and if I should expire while incarcerated the State will offer a State burial but they are not obligated to provide my medical support or medication as the cost of care would be substantial and could affect the State budget. Therefore, there is no escape except by death and then that's not a solution either
  • May 23, 2012, 08:52 AM
    zilla963
    Rogerb47, having just moved from IL I completely understand at least in part what you may have gone through... my husband came into arrears during the recession. They seized our joint savings account, which held MY MONEY I was saving for a much needed surgery, and MY tax return ( the first year when I didn't know to file for injured spouse) Even though we had an amended support order and was CURRENT on that ( paying a new amount based on his unemployment and an amount going towards arrears)... they even took my state return ( all of $7) because the state does not recognize "injured spouse" so as long as we file joint they keep it.. and as long as I KNOW this.. its OK I want to pay this down ASAP.. but to TAKE it without warning cheezed me off!! We have since moved to a more friendly state

    I am curious, just because if my husband were to pass away, he has no estate or life insurance to pay off the arrears ( he was unemployed for 18mo, so arrears is about 12 mo worth) and I am the beneficiary of his pension.
    What will happen to the rest of the arrearage? One child is 19 now(we are in the process of getting him off the support order) and the other will be 18 in a year. Thankfully he is in good health... I was just wondering...
  • Sep 7, 2013, 11:18 AM
    Tina10904
    My ex lives in Washington State and I live in New York State. He is currently paying on arrears which are in excess of $30,000. The support order began 28 years ago. My question is, if he dies before this amount is paid off, and he has no money or life insurance, can his home/property be seized to pay this debt? I am assuming the home/property is in both his and his spouse's names.
  • Sep 7, 2013, 01:32 PM
    AK lawyer
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tina10904 View Post
    My ex lives in Washington State and I live in New York State. He is currently paying on arrears which are in excess of $30,000. The support order began 28 years ago. My question is, if he dies before this amount is paid off, and he has no money or life insurance, can his home/property be seized to pay this debt? I am assuming the home/property is in both his and his spouse's names.

    You should have begun a new thread.

    It would depend upon how the property is owned. He would be wise to see to it that he and his wife own the property as joint tenants with right of survivorship (JTWROS). Otherwise, if it is held in common, his share will pass through his estate, which must pay creditors such as yourself before passing the property to the heirs.

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