‘An original order for child support may be made retroactive to the date of filing the petition, complaint, or other initial pleading. If the parent ordered to pay support was not served with the petition, complaint or other pleading within 90 days after filing and the court finds that the parent was not intentionally evading service, the child support order shall be effective no earlier than the date of service.’ (FC 4009.)
“If the request for child support is not the initial request, any order modifying or terminating a support order may be made retroactive to the date of the filing of the Request for Order (RFO) to modify or terminate, or to any subsequent date (FC 3653(a)).
When a person who has been court-ordered to pay child support gets behind in his or her payments, the amount of money owed but not paid on time is called arrearages. FC 5201 defines arrearages as the amount necessary to satisfy a support judgment or order pursuant to CCP 695.210. Pursuant to FC 4503, there is no statute of limitations on child support arrearages.”
(LW Greenberg, California Family Law.)
