A San Diego County woman will receive $150,000 in back child support from her ex-husband.
That’s interesting news, but even more interesting when you consider this: The woman’s child is now 52 years old.
About 50 years ago, the man left his family. The woman, a retired interior designer from Carlsbad, California, raised their daughter on her own. She had an order for child support, but her ex-husband moved to Canada and never paid.
The woman did everything it took to make ends meet and support her daughter. Once her daughter was grown and out of the house, and she could reflect, she remembered the 1970 order for child support.
Thinking that by this point, her ex-husband could be back in the United States, she went to the San Diego County Child Support Services office, which found he was living in Oregon. A new court order was issued, and even though he wasn’t required to attend a hearing – his attorney could have represented him – he did.
And when the woman asked why he appeared in court, he tearfully told her it was because he wanted the forgiveness of her and their daughter.
The original $35,000 he was supposed to pay had ballooned to $160,000 with interest and penalties. They settled on $150,000 to be paid over two years.
The daughter said she is happy that their story could inspire other women who have learned of it through the media.
“Since Mom put this all out in the world, there has been comment after comment from people that are dealing with the same thing,” she said, per NBC News. “The overall consensus is that there are a lot of people out there, women, that are dealing with this and they don’t know what to do.”
This story has a happy, albeit late, ending, but so many child support cases don’t end happily or easily. An attorney can assist parents who don’t receive their court-ordered support.
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