Unpaid child support does not fade, forgive itself, or expire — it compounds. In Florida, every missed payment becomes an arrearage that accrues interest, survives the child’s eighteenth birthday, follows the debtor through bankruptcy untouched, and remains collectible for life. Whether you are owed a five-figure arrearage or carrying one, the rules of this permanent debt deserve clear eyes. From The Law Office of John Vernon Moore, P.A. in Melbourne.
What Arrears Are — and Are Not
An arrearage is unpaid support under an existing order — distinct from retroactive support (the pre-filing look-back) though the two often travel together in a first order. Once a payment date passes unpaid, that installment becomes a vested judgment by operation of law — and this is the doctrinal heart of everything: Florida courts cannot retroactively modify or forgive vested arrears. The judge who might have lowered your payment last year if asked has no power to erase what accrued while you stayed silent. Every principle of arrears practice flows from that one-way ratchet.
Interest: The Quiet Multiplier
Arrears accrue interest at Florida’s statutory judgment rate, adjusted periodically. On old, large arrearages the interest arithmetic startles people — a debt carried for a decade can owe nearly as much in interest as principal, and payments are typically credited to current support first, then arrears, so a payor covering only the ongoing amount watches the arrearage grow untouched. For recipients, this means an old uncollected judgment is worth more than its face; for payors, it means the cheapest day to address arrears is always today.
Collecting an Arrearage
The full enforcement arsenal applies — income withholding with an arrears surcharge (an additional percentage on top of current support until the debt clears), license suspensions, tax refund interception, liens and levies, credit reporting, passport denial, and contempt — and two features make arrears collection unusually patient: no statute of limitations bars enforcement of Florida support judgments, and the debt reaches assets whenever they appear. The payor who inherits, wins, sells a house, or finally prospers meets the arrearage waiting at the closing table. Recipients holding old judgments should also know the interest accounting is theirs to prove — payment histories through the depository make it automatic; informal-payment eras require reconstruction, which is work worth doing before the collection push.
Managing an Arrearage You Cannot Erase
For payors, candor: the debt is permanent, but its terms are negotiable and its growth is stoppable. The playbook: stop the bleeding — if the current order exceeds your true ability, file for modification now, because relief only runs forward; get a payment plan ordered — courts routinely structure arrears repayment (a monthly amount atop current support) that, honored consistently, keeps the enforcement machinery quiet; negotiate where possible — arrears owed to the other parent (not state-assigned sums) can be settled by agreement with court approval, and recipients facing decades of trickle payments sometimes accept meaningful lump sums; and document everything — every direct payment outside the depository is a future evidentiary fight, so route money through the system that keeps score. What never helps: paying nothing because you cannot pay everything. Partial consistent payment is the difference between a payment-plan hearing and a contempt hearing.
The Long Game on Both Sides
These debts outlive childhoods — Florida enforces arrears for adult children’s benefit against retirees, against estates, across state lines under UIFSA. With over 89 years of combined experience, we have collected arrearages written off decades earlier and restructured debts that had immobilized working parents. The consistent lesson from both chairs: the parties who act early — the recipient who enforces before the debt ages, the payor who modifies before the arrears vest — control their outcomes; the parties who wait inherit whatever the ratchet built.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can we agree to waive the arrears my ex owes me?
Arrears owed directly to you can be compromised with court approval; sums assigned to the state (public-assistance reimbursement) cannot. Get any deal ordered — informal forgiveness has a way of unforgiving itself.
Does interest keep accruing during a payment plan?
Generally yes, on the unpaid balance — which is why plans should be sized to genuinely amortize the debt, and why lump-sum settlements at a discount can serve both sides.
My arrears accrued while I was unemployed. Can the court wipe them?
No — vested arrears cannot be retroactively forgiven, even sympathetically. The court can structure repayment humanely; it cannot erase. This is why filing for modification during hardship, not after, is everything.
The child is 25 now. Is the arrearage still collectible?
Fully — support judgments in Florida do not expire, and enforcement continues regardless of the child’s age until paid.
Permanent Debts Deserve Serious Handling
Owed or owing, the arrearage is not going anywhere — but its trajectory is negotiable. Call (321) 529-7777 or contact us online for a free 30-minute consultation.