Q: If the custodial parent has died, do I still owe arrearges? And who do I owe them to?
After her death I received some legal papers from an attorney explaining that she had passed away and that our minor child wanted to live with his older step brother. Having had no contact or relationship with the child for 16 of his 17 years I consented to his request only to find out later that he was not with his brother but was with his maternal grandmother who is well over 80 years old and living in an old folks community and was and still is a closet alcoholic. Had I known he was going to be left with her I would not have signed away my rights.
A:
If the custodial parent has died and the child is still a minor then you owe the child support arrears to the person who has guardianship over the child or if the child has received benefits from DHS due to your nonpayment of child support you may owe DHS.
If the child is now an adult and his Mom has died, you could owe her estate and if no probate was filed, you may owe the child support arrears to your son.
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