California Partition Law Blog
Yes. Child support liens attach to real estate in California both voluntarily and involuntarily. Liens are effectively a public notice of outstanding claims against your property. In the case of child support, a custodial parent can place a lien against the non-custodial parent’s property when they fail to make court ordered payments. Child support liens last until the non-custodial parent resolves their debt by payment in full.
What is a Lien?
Non-custodial parents in California pay the custodial parent child support payments because they do not have primary physical custody of their child(ren). Non-custodial parents enter a payment deficit when they fail to make child support payments, subsequently allowing courts to place a lien on the non-custodial parent’s property. (Code Civ. Proc., § 697.320; Fam. Code, § 17523.)