[michelleme]

Deceased father never paid child support, he lived with another woman for 30 years after the divorce and the State of FL ordered child support but mother never went after it until he died. Now the Executor his son his wanting the old woman he lived with to give up their home in order to pay the 224,000.00 in child support and interest. This woman will have nothing if this goes through and the kids don't need the money. It sounds fishy for the mother to pursue this now that the fathers dead. It seems all they want is revenge.

[Oliver2011]

Florida, where I live, is a weird common law state, I do believe. Common law marriages are not valid for the most part. Florida does recognize common law marriages from other states and ones from a long time ago. I think it is more than the 30 years those two were together.

You would be better served asking this question in the legal section so that someone who practices family law can answer it. I do not. But from my standpoint I don't think it sounds fishy at all. The guy didn't complete his obligation. The kids being grown doesn't make that obligation go away. Can you hear a judge say "Oh the kids are grown so just forget about it." That isn't the way it works. The obligation was to the wife as support for raising the kids. She is well within her rights.

[AK lawyer]

Florida, where I live, is a weird common law state, I do believe. ...

"Common-law state" (there are 49 of them; all except Louisiana), and states which recognizes common-law marriages, are two different concepts. As noted, Florida doesn't recognize common-law marriages, perhaps other than those established in those states which do.

OP writes that "the State of FL ordered child support". Was there a court order to this effect?

I'm assuming "the Executor his son" is executor of the ex-wife of the decedent, and not of the decedent himself.

One would also have to determine if this woman who lived with the decedent for 30 years was on the title to the property. If so, she might have a claim to half the value of it.

In the title of this thread, OP writes "estate given to partner with lifetime rights?". If the decedent gave her a life estate before he died, and the child support claimant failed to record the foreign child-support judgment, she (the woman who lived with the decedent for 30 years) might have a case.

[Fr_Chuck]

This is where there needs to be an attorney doing the estate.

First the children do not get the child support, the mother, is the one due the child support. So the mother must make the claim against the estate for the back child support.

This is valid, assuming that there is not a SOL on collection of old child support.

So I am not sure, why the mother being paid, the money she is owed, is an issue, it is not only the legal, but the moral thing, since she should have been paid long ago..

[ScottGem]

It sounds fishy for the mother to pursue this now that the fathers dead. It seems all they want is revenge.

So the father violated a court order and never paid court ordered support so that he rang up an arrears of $224K. The kids don't get that money, the mother does. Child support goes to the mother. As for the "old woman he lived with" She should have provided for herself. While its not her fault that the man didn't live up to his responsibilities, its not the ex wife's problem. Frankly, I have trouble generating a lot of sympathy for this woman.

While it may seem harsh for the executor to want to sell the house to pay the support arrears, in fact he is obligated to. An executor HAS to pay the debts of the estate before anything else. I don't know anything about the ex wife or how well off she is, but she apparently raised the children without any financial support from their father. That was a wrong that should be redressed.