Carlsbad, CA — Toni Anderson, a 74-year old woman from California, has finally been awarded $150,000 in child support from her ex-husband who left her nearly 50 years ago with their then 3-year old daughter she had to raise on her own.
Anderson said her ex-husband fled to Canada instead of paying the court-ordered child support in the early 1970’s. She worked as an interior designer to support her daughter, who is now 52 years old and runs the firm she had previously worked at.
“I’m not negating the fact I was able to send my daughter to college, Paris. We traveled and had a good time. But the money runs out,” she said.
Anderson, who is now retired, admitted that she rents out a part of her house to help with the finances. With money being tight, she said she “realized in the middle of the night one night last year, ‘Hey, there’s no statute of limitations on child support.'”
Anderson then searched for old court papers and notified her ex-husband, who is now living in Oregon, that she wanted him to pay up.
“He was only supposed to give me like a $160 a month. Well, that was 50 years ago. That today is a lot more money,” she stated.
If he settled it before, he would have just paid a total of some $30,000 but with an accrued interest of 10 percent a year, it is now more than $170,000. A private hearing in Vista Court on Wednesday resulted in a settlement of $150,000.
“I think he’s a little bit panicked,” Anderson said about her ex-husband. “And I’m very happy because I was panicked all these years. Now, it’s his turn.”
Moreover, Anderson wanted to let every single parent know that they can still collect, just like what happened to her.