Q: My ex partner and I have an informal agreement regarding child support. No court order has been established.
And nothing in writing. I have been paying periodically over the last five years. Can a judgment be placed on me if this is taken to court? Thank you
A: Absent a pre-existing court order for support, the court is limited in its jurisdiction to enter an order for support retroactively. Assuming there are no extenuating circumstances, the court is generally limited to going back only so far as the date that you are served with the papers requesting the hearing to determine support. As such, in answer to your question about whether a judgment can be "placed" on you, the answer, generally, is that the court could not enter an order against you for child support retroactive during the past five years. The court can issue an order for child support and make it retroactive to the date you are served with the request, not further back than that.
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