Back Child Support - South Carolina

[Crywolf203]

Hello!
So, obviously I'm in the state of South Carolina and my father has been behind in child support for at least 15 years. I'm 25 years old and my mother passed when I was 16. I was living with my grandmother since I was 12 until I was 18 and left to go to college in August of 2012. I have not lived with my grandmother since.

My father has been paying child support and paying catch up since 2011 but I have not received anything. I was just lead to believe he has not been paying until he showed me years of receipts.

He says it was ordered to my mom who passed. I was never appointed a legal guardian. Who does the back child support belong to? I have a 20 month old daughter who I could be using that money for instead.

Thanks for all of the responses!

 

[Just Blue]

Hello!
So, obviously I'm in the state of South Carolina and my father has been behind in child support for at least 15 years. I'm 25 years old and my mother passed when I was 16. I was living with my grandmother since I was 12 until I was 18 and left to go to college in August of 2012. I have not lived with my grandmother since.

My father has been paying child support and paying catch up since 2011 but I have not received anything. I was just lead to believe he has not been paying until he showed me years of receipts.

He says it was ordered to my mom who passed. I was never appointed a legal guardian. Who does the back child support belong to? I have a 20 month old daughter who I could be using that money for instead.

Thanks for all of the responses!

It is likely going to her estate. Who is the executor or trustee of the estate?

 

[Crywolf203]

It is likely going to her estate. Who is the executor or trustee of the estate?

Now that is something that I do not know. I was kept in the dark about her estate and her life insurance, although I know there was life insurance on my mother.

 

[stealth2]

I have a 20 month old daughter who I could be using that money for instead.

You should be addressing that with your child's other parent (if you are not together), via the court.

What your father owed should be going to Mom's estate to repay the money she had to make up due to Dad's lack of support at the time. (and Grandma should have filed to have the CS paid to her once you started living with her.

ETA: Of course, if the state was paying benefits, your Dad is likely paying the state back.

 

[Crywolf203]

You should be addressing that with your child's other parent (if you are not together), via the court.

What your father owed should be going to Mom's estate to repay the money she had to make up due to Dad's lack of support at the time. (and Grandma should have filed to have the CS paid to her once you started living with her.

ETA: Of course, if the state was paying benefits, your Dad is likely paying the state back.

Thanks, I'm sure there wasn't any state benefits. So unless the money was court ordered to go to me, then anything he pays will continue to go to my grandmother until the back child support is settled?

 

[stealth2]

Thanks, I'm sure there wasn't any state benefits. So unless the money was court ordered to go to me, then anything he pays will continue to go to my grandmother until the back child support is settled?

Depends on the details.

CS isn't intended as spending money for the child, but for living basics - housing, clothes, food, etc. Whoever was caring for you when Dad wasn't paying ordered support paid his share and should be reimbursed. Be it Grandma, Mom's estate, etc. But it really depends on the details of the situation.

 

[Zigner]

Thanks, I'm sure there wasn't any state benefits. So unless the money was court ordered to go to me, then anything he pays will continue to go to my grandmother until the back child support is settled?

Why would anything be going to your grandmother?

 

[Zigner]

If there is a court order in place, then the money dad paid/is paying should go to whomever the court order says it goes to. If that person is mom, then mom's estate is collecting it. If that person is grandma, then it goes to grandma.

Our OP needs to figure out what is going on/went on with mom's estate.

 

[stealth2]

Why would anything be going to your grandmother?

OP was living w/grandma for six years. Of course, who CS is owed to depends on the details...

 

[Zigner]

OP was living w/grandma for six years. Of course, who CS is owed to depends on the details...

Yes, I agree. The CS order is what would specify the disposition of the CS money.

Edit: It's entirely possible that a new CS order was put in to place upon mom's passing. That's something else the OP should be looking in to. In fact, he may want to simply ask grandma.

 

[stealth2]

Yes, I agree. The CS order is what would specify the disposition of the CS money.

Edit: It's entirely possible that a new CS order was put in to place upon mom's passing. That's something else the OP should be looking in to. In fact, he may want to simply ask grandma.

Of course, the money is unlikely to go to OP, unless it is as a beneficiary of the estate...

 

[Zigner]

Frankly, I would be surprised to see child support (that was ordered to mom) continue for any appreciable length of time once mom passed away .

 

[LdiJ]

The bottom line is that CS arrears go to whomever supported the child without help during the period of time in question. That could be the State (to reimburse things like TANF, food stamps, Medicaid, Section 8 housing) or could be mom/mom's estate or could be grandma.

Nobody knows who that is unless they know the nitty gritty details of your case. What is certain, is that unless those arrears were part of mom's estate, and you inherited mom's estate, they do not belong to you.

 

[Zigner]

The bottom line is that CS arrears go to whomever supported the child without help during the period of time in question. That could be the State (to reimburse things like TANF, food stamps, Medicaid, Section 8 housing) or could be mom/mom's estate or could be grandma.

Not entirely true. Yes, the State gets theirs ahead of others, but if you take them out of the equation, then the person that is named to be paid in the court order is who gets paid, regardless of whomever supported the child. Of course, if the person who is actually supporting the child files for child support, that can be changed.

Nobody knows who that is unless they know the nitty gritty details of your case. What is certain, is that unless those arrears were part of mom's estate, and you inherited mom's estate, they do not belong to you.

Agreed.