What happens if you collect a personal injury settlement while you owe back child support payments? If you find yourself in this situation, please talk to a personal injury lawyer in California. A California personal injury attorney can let you know whether you may expect the state to seize your settlement and advise you on steps you can take to resolve your child support debt.

What Happens If You Owe Child Support?

They won’t go away if you fail to keep up with court-ordered child support payments. Instead, child support arrears (missed payments) will accumulate with interest, and you may end up paying a lot more eventually.

The state may go after your salary, tax returns, and bank accounts to force you to pay back child support. The state may also put a lien on your assets, including your personal injury settlement, until you catch up on child support arrears.

Can the State Take Away Your Settlement?

Unfortunately, yes. Since a court decides on child support payments, it gives the state authority to garner a personal injury settlement and collect unpaid child support. If your co-parent has previously applied for child support enforcement, there may already be a lien on any potential settlement you may collect.

If the state decides to take child support debt out of your personal injury settlement, you and the insurer paying the settlement will receive official notice. However, your medical bills and the fees you owe to your California accident lawyer come first. Once these expenses come out of your settlement, the state may garnish the remainder (or however much you owe) to pay off your child support debt.

What If You Can’t Afford To Pay Child Support?

Many people struggle to pay child support for legitimate reasons, like a financial crisis or health issues. If you’re in the process of a personal injury claim — for example, after a car accident — perhaps your condition reduced your ability to work and keep up with child support payments. 

However, dodging child support is never a good idea. The longer you wait to settle your child support debt, the worse your position becomes. 

If you owe child support arrears, explain the situation to your personal injury lawyer in California. While no one can eliminate your child support debt, your attorney may be able to help you work out a payment plan.

Modifying a Child Support Order

You could save time and effort by agreeing on child support modification with your co-parent. If you seek to modify a child support order through the court, you must show a significant change of circumstances.

For example, you may be able to request child support modification if you’re unable to work or can only work part-time because of your injury, and your income has thus dropped significantly compared to the period when the court issued the original order.

If your co-parent won’t cooperate or you run into issues with modifying a child support order, consulting a family lawyer and/or trying mediation may be worthwhile.

Call The Cifarelli Law Firm for Powerful Personal Injury Legal Services in California

Are you preparing to file a personal injury claim and wonder whether the state may seize your personal injury settlement to cover child support arrears? Contact The Cifarelli Law Firm today, and we will inform you what you can expect if you have pending child support debt and receive a settlement after an injury. 

Call (949) 502-8600 or contact us online to consult a personal injury lawyer in California.