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Bill would raise unpaid child-support claims higher in estate-priority list
Summary
Delegate Cathy Forbes and the Baltimore County register of wills asked the committee to advance HB 261, which would move unpaid child-support claims up in priority so children are more likely to receive arrears from insolvent estates.
Delegate Cathy Forbes presented House Bill 261 to the House Judiciary Committee on Jan. 22, asking lawmakers to elevate unpaid child-support claims in the statutory priority of estate claims so those debts are likelier to be paid from insolvent estates.
Under current law, testimony noted, unpaid child support owed at a decedent’s death sits at the bottom of the statutory priority list for estate claims and is treated like other unsecured creditors; Forbes said the bill would elevate unpaid child support to position six on the priority list so it would be paid ahead of many unsecured claims. “If a parent has failed to pay child support during their lifetime and then passes away, the parent of the surviving child has the right to file a claim against the estate for unpaid child support,” Forbes said. “This bill proposes to elevate those unpaid child support claims to number 6 on the list.”
Alexis Burrell Rohde, register of wills for Baltimore County, testified in support and said the change “mirrors what appears currently in the federal bankruptcy code” and would help families recover payments owed for children’s benefit. Committee members asked about related items on the priority list (funeral expenses, family allowances, taxes) and whether moving child-support claims would reduce state tax recovery; Burrell Rohde and Forbes said taxes and other priorities have statutory treatment and that unpaid child support historically has been disadvantaged in the ordering.
Members also asked about the practical scale of the problem. Burrell Rohde said such claims arise “a few times a year” in Baltimore County and encouraged staff to gather more precise counts. The committee recorded questions about how guardian/family allowances interact with elevated claims and whether Social Security survivor benefits or timing of other benefits might affect a child’s need; witnesses said timing of federal survivor benefits varies and would require separate follow-up.
No formal committee vote or amendment on HB 261 is recorded in the hearing transcript.
