Child Support and Personal Injury Accident Settlements

Child support is governed by numerous, comprehensive laws, which are established by each state. This includes how to calculate the amount of support and legal consequences for missed payments. But many people do not stop to think about what can happen with their child support payments if they receive a settlement from a lawsuit.

As a parent paying child support or receiving it from a former partner, you need to be aware of your rights concerning child support payments and compensation from a personal injury claim. Questions you will need answers to include:

• Do I need to pay child support out of my accident settlement?

• Can my ex demand some or all of my settlement from a lawsuit?

• If I’m currently owed child support, can I claim a portion of my ex’s settlement for child support arrears?

Our Recent Verdicts and Settlements

Child Support Payments in California

Child support is a form of systematic payments that are imposed when parents divorce or have custody disputes over one or more children. In some cases, one parent may not even be aware that they have a child until they are served with notice that a former partner is suing for child support. Regardless of the circumstance, these payments are paid by a noncustodial parent in order to cover a child’s basic needs. The amount of child support is determined by the court system and based on factors, like the noncustodial parent’s income.

Arrears for child support refer to missed payments, and the unpaid debt can come out of future income streams, which include accident injury settlements, along with wages, Social Security benefits, workers’ comp benefits, and pensions. In order to claim child support arrears from a lawsuit settlement, the receiving parent must file for a court order indicating the full amount that is due from the other party.

Child Support and Liens on Personal Injury Compensation

Whenever a claimant receives funds from a personal injury claim, the first step is to pay off any liens, like medical bills and attorney’s fees. Unpaid child support can also count as a lien against the settlement, meaning that a portion of the money from an insurance claim or lawsuit will go to the parent who was awarded child support by the court.

However, there may be disputes surrounding how much of the settlement can go towards child support. After all, the money from a lawsuit is meant to cover financial losses that the victim accrued because of injuries that were caused by someone else. In a legal sense, it can be argued that the funds should not be used for anyone else but the victim, considering that a significant portion of the settlement will go towards expenses like medical treatments and lost wages.

Another argument that’s been brought up by attorneys is the nature of income that should go towards child support. For example, wages from a job are clearly a form of consistent income that’s paid out on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis. But the same cannot be said for accident settlements that are issued as a one-time payment or paid on an annual basis.

The claimant can also end up in further debt and possibly face legal consequences if all or a significant portion of the settlement goes toward paying for child support. Essentially, whatever the clients owes for their medical treatments and other bills they ran up as they waited for a settlement will go unpaid. This is particularly true in cases that take one or more years to resolve, which is not uncommon with personal injury claims.

The Laws in California

In some other states, parents have the option to seek the entire amount of a lawsuit settlement if there are child support arrears. However, the laws in California do not support this arrangement. Parents who are owed child support can only ask for payments from the portion of the settlement related to lost income, such as missed wages from time off at work. That means child support arrears cannot be paid from the compensation that’s meant for other damages, like medical expenses and pain and suffering.

A Lawyer’s Duty Concerning Child Support

Personal injury lawyers representing clients that have child support debt must honor any liens placed against the account upon receipt of the settlement check. If they try to circumvent paying the liens, including stalling on payments, they can face legal consequences, including suspension and disbarment, meaning they are no longer permitted to practice law.

Please note that attorneys cannot be held liable for debts that they were not informed of. As a general rule, lawyers are informed of debts like child support by the court system. If this is not brought to their attention, they are not responsible for the payment of child support arrears out of their client’s settlement.

Compensation from a Personal Injury Lawsuit

Personal injury claims are filed when there is negligence by one or more parties that causes harm to another individual. Common examples of personal injury cases include car accidents and slip and falls, but assault and battery / sexual abuse claims also fall under the umbrella of personal injury. Those who are injured by product defects can also file a claim for injuries, which is known as a product liability lawsuit.

The damages that can be recovered include multiple forms of compensation, such as current and future medical costs, property damage, and pain and suffering. For the most part, victims have 2 years from the date of injury to file a lawsuit, though liability claims against government entities have a deadline of 6 months.

The length of time it takes to settle a personal injury lawsuit can range from just a few weeks to over 3 years. Cases involving serious and/or permanent injuries take 1 or more years on average, so this is an important realization for parents who are waiting to seek child support arrears from a prospective settlement.

Contact Normandie Law Firm

Are you a parent who owes child support and wants information on how this will affect your settlement form a personal injury case? Alternatively, are you seeking child support payments from money that the other parent is owed from a lawsuit? No matter which side of the fence you are on, legal advice is the key to a successful resolution.

We provide anyone that contacts us with a free consultation, so they can decide if hiring a lawyer is the right course of action. If so, you have the assurance of knowing that we do not charge you upfront. We take your case on contingency and wait until your case is settled before we deduct legal fees. That means if you do not receive compensation from a successful claim, you owe us $0.

The lawyers of Normandie are waiting to assist you, so contact our law firm 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.