Arrears Only (Nov. 2000)
Question:In the event there was a court order completed whereby support was ordered. The parties had never used the child support services of any state agency. The child is now emancipated (let's say 30 yrs old). No other order had ever been completed privately in their case except the original order which stated the amt of support to be paid by the absent parent. No judgment ever entered stating arrears were owed to the custodial parent. Now, the custodial parent comes to our office (and remember the child is emancipated and is 30 yrs old). She wants her back child support. Is the child support office suppose to help? If so, how can either party prove support was or wasn't paid as the agency has no records of their own. I realize the time frame for collection on a judgment is 15 yrs, but how long, from the time the child emancipates, do you have to obtain a judgment? At the meeting a couple of weeks ago, i was told by a couple of other counties that you could go in and seek arrears on those type of cases. Our co. Atty will not. I spoke to our District Judge and one of our Commissioner's about this and they both said they felt like there had to be a time frame and they would have a big problem with a hearing like that.
Answer: Case law allows the collection of arrearages for up to 15 years after the youngest child named in the order becomes emancipated. If the time period is less than 15 years, you can open a IV-D case. If the time period is 15 years or longer, it is not a IV-D function to try to collect the arrearages for the custodial parent.
You can use the Custodial Parent Affidavit Letter (Form CS-148) and the Custodial Parent Affidavit of Support Paid (Form CS-149) to get a sworn statement from the custodial parent as to the total arrearage owed. If the custodial parent has no records of what is owed, then I don't see how you can proceed to help the custodial parent collect a specific amount of arrearages.
The following is an excerpt form the Prosecutors' Handbook.
26.050 REFERRALS FOR COLLECTION OF ARREARAGE-ONLY CASES
Action is taken to refer a case to a contracting official for the collection of arrearages when the IV-D case is an arrearage-only case, the absent parent is not making payments to reduce the arrearage owed to CHR, there is no existing arrearage judgment, and administrative enforcement cannot be completed.
Case law permits CHR to initiate action to collect arrearages for up to 15 years after the youngest child named in the order attains the age of majority or is otherwise emancipated.
Subsection 29.090 of the Manual of Procedures specifies the following:
"Based on a 1984 Kentucky Court of Appeals decision (Heisley v. Heisley, 676 S.W.2d 477), action to collect arrearages may be initiated for up to 15 years after the youngest child named in the order attains the age of majority or is otherwise emancipated."
See KRS 413.090, Action upon judgment, contract or bond -- Fifteen-year limitation. KRS 413.090(1) specifies that action may be started within 15 years after the cause of action first accrued for a decree of any court of this state or of the United States. . .