A 73-year-old mother has successfully sued for child support from her ex-husband 50 years after he fled to Canada without paying a dime for their then 3-year-old daughter.
Toni Anderson from North San Diego told 10News that her ex, Donald Lenhart, left the U.S. to Canada rather than paying court-ordered child support to their child Lane.
Lenhart now returned to the U.S. and lives back in Oregon.
Anderson said: “I realized in the middle of the night one night last year, ‘Hey, there’s no statute of limitations on child support.’”
She looked up old court papers and last month informed her ex-husband that she was looking for him to pay up.
She said: “He was only supposed to give me like a 160 dollars a month.”
Anderson worked out that what Lenhart was due to pay per month 50 years ago is more in today’s money.
She said she wants other single parents to be aware that they can still get unpaid child support. Her message to her ex-husband who has not paid what he owes is to watch out.
The 73-year-old mom says she gave her daughter the best she could.
Anderson supported Lane growing up while working as an interior designer. She also sent her to college in Paris but now she is retired. She rents out part of her house but money is still tight.
Her lawyer, Sara Yunis, said a private hearing resulted in a settlement of $150,000. The ex-husband’s attorney has not responded yet for comments.
One internet user said: “She should have gotten accrued interest on it too.”
Another wrote: “Good for her. But his real loss is not being a part of his daughter’s life.”
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