Legal Q&A
Q
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I divorced my husband about 15 years ago. At the time of the divorce, I took custody of our child. He deposited child support for about a month or two, but after that he stopped paying.. Now my child has become an adult; is a child support claim lawsuit possible?
Claim for past child support
Divorce
Divorce child support
Child support claim lawsuit
Non-payment of child support
Answer
Published:
Author : Kuk Il KIM
Yes, child support from 5 years ago can also be claimed. Extinctive prescription applies to a child support claim lawsuit.
However, this extinctive prescription does not run until the child reaches adulthood.
According to Supreme Court precedent, the extinctive prescription of the right to claim child support begins from the point at which the child reaches adulthood and the duty of care ends.
Previously, it was held that even after the child reached the age of majority, if the right to claim child support was not established, the extinctive prescription would not run.
However, it has now been made clear that once the child reaches adulthood, the right to claim child support can be exercised.
In other words, while the child is a minor, the right to claim child support does not extinguish, and once the child turns 19 and becomes an adult, it can be claimed for up to 10 years from that point.
Extinctive prescription is, put simply, a system under which, if a right holder does not exercise a right for a certain period even though they could have, the right disappears.
Generally, a claim disappears if it is not exercised for 10 years, and child support can similarly be claimed within 10 years after the child becomes an adult.

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Kuk Il KIM
T. 070-5117-2950
Experience as Chief Prosecutor at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office · Attorney Specializing in Criminal Law/Drugs/Intellectual Property
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