Collecting From a Deceased Payor’s Estate: Support Survives Death Too

Arrears do not die with the payor. His estate answers for the accrued support — and in some cases, ongoing support for minor children becomes a claim against what he left behind.

What California Law Says

Accrued support arrears are debts of the decedent’s estate, claimable in probate with support’s characteristic durability, and reachable against trust and nonprobate transfers under creditor claim procedures. Life insurance ordered as support security pays outside the estate entirely.

How to Collect, Step by Step

1. Locate the proceeding: probate filings are public; trusts require creditor notice procedures.
2. File the creditor claim within the statutory window with the arrears audit attached.
3. Check the order for security provisions — life insurance requirements the order imposed are enforceable now.
4. Trace nonprobate transfers: accounts and property moved outside probate remain reachable through the proper procedures.
5. For minor children, evaluate the family allowance and ongoing support claims against the estate.

Common Questions

His new wife inherited everything and says the debt died with him. Did it?

No — creditor claims against the estate and its distributees exist for exactly this; the arrears are a debt his property pays before her inheritance clears.

The order required him to carry life insurance for the kids and he let it lapse. Remedy?

The lapse is a violation with remedies against the estate — the security provision’s value becomes part of your claim.