Thread: Statue of limitations of spousal support

I was divorced almost 16 years ago. We were married 28 years and I was awarded a lifetime spousal support of $2K a month. He quit his job and had a mental breakdown and went on dissability so they modified the support to $500 a month based on his SSI income. He attempted suicide and after that never paid any support. I never pursued it as it was alienating me from my two adult daughters. It is now 16 years later and I am in dire economic need. I've lost most of my income except for my early social security of $825 a month. He owns a home and I want to know if I can lien his property for all the back support? He is now receiving $2200 a month from Social Security plus his pension from being a carpenter for 20 years. Can I also start receiving the $500 a month from him now?

There are a few things you can do. You can obtain a writ of execution which you can use to collect on unpaid spousal support. I recommend doing a contempt action as well. I can post the forms that you would need. I am assuming you are in California and the judgment is from California? What county are you in?

Originally Posted by Isaac

There are a few things you can do. You can obtain a writ of execution which you can use to collect on unpaid spousal support. I recommend doing a contempt action as well. I can post the forms that you would need. I am assuming you are in California and the judgment is from California? What county are you in?

Yes, I am in California. I currently reside in Stanislaus County but everything was filed in Alameda County.

Ok. What I'll do soon is post a sample contempt action, a sample writ, and the blank forms that you need, so you can see what those look like. Things were really busy today so I was not able to do it. Isaac

Thanks Isaac!

I noticed I never posted these documents and it's now about a year later. Did you still need any help with this? I apologize for not getting to it before.

Hi Maggiesmom. I just want to add to the reply by Mr. Fischer - there is no statute of limitations on support orders made under the Family Code. However, if you brought a contempt action, it would only apply to payments due in the last three years. You should probably file a motion to determine arrearage, and then enforce the order that results. Unless he files a motion to modify support (and wins), he continues to owe you $500 per month. Once you have a judgment on arrearage, you can record it in the county where his real property is located, and establish a lien that way. You probably should get a lawyer.