From the mailbag… Can we collect child support that is very old?

From the mailbag… Can we collect child support that is very old?

QUESTION:

Hi just want to find out if you are able to collect child support that was never paid. I have a court order for the back child support and continued to try to keep the Texas Attorney Generals office up to date on the fathers address and phone numbers and such. They never made attempt to collect. The father was in and out of prison, but in the same town that the case originated. Our daughter is of course now grown, but I still have the court order for the child support and still have the amount due in the court system. I would really like to collect my child support now.

ANSWER:

Hi Teri,

Thank you for the email and question on if we can collect child support.

There may be a possibility to collect the support that is due to your family but a few details are missing so I can’t say with certainty what can be done. The ability to collect will depend on the income and assets the non-custodial parent has and also the statute of limitation. If we can work with a garnishment of income or, work directly with the non-custodial parent to arrange a payment plan we would have success in collecting.

Let’s chat about the case and see if we can help! I will call you later in the morning.

Thank you!