Selling a House With a Child Support Lien in Los Angeles, CA

Most people find out about a child support lien the same way: their title search comes back, and there it is. No heads up or any warning. They just get the news that a lien is sitting on your property, as if it owns the place. This is super common in Los Angeles, and it’s very much something you can work through.

If you’re trying to sell your home for cash in Los Angeles, CA, with one of these attached, stick around. We’re breaking down exactly how child support liens work in California and what selling looks like with one on your title!

Can You Sell a House With a Child Support Lien in Los Angeles, CA?

Yes, you can sell a house with a child support lien in Los Angeles, CA.

A child support lien does not automatically kill your sale. What it does is sit on your title as an unresolved debt, and that debt has to be cleared before ownership can transfer to your buyer.

In most cases, the lien gets paid off at closing directly from your sale proceeds. The title company calculates exactly what’s owed and pulls it from your net proceeds. Then, the transaction moves forward. You typically don’t need to come up with cash before the sale happens.

That said, your buyer’s lender will not approve financing on a property with an unresolved lien. Even cash buyers want a clean title. So while the lien itself is not a deal breaker, ignoring it definitely is.

What Is a Child Support Lien in California?

A child support lien is a formal legal claim recorded against your property when you fall behind on court-ordered child support payments.

In California, the Department of Child Support Services or the custodial parent can file this lien with the LA County Recorder’s Office. They can do it without taking you back to court first.

Under California Family Code Section 17523, the lien attaches to your real property the moment it’s recorded. It shows up on your title, it’s a public record, and it will surface in any title search.

California treats child support liens as judgment liens. That classification is very important because judgment liens in California accrue interest at 10% per year.

They also cannot be wiped out in bankruptcy, unlike most other types of debt.

The lien is personal to you as the debtor, not to the property itself. That means it does not automatically transfer to your buyer. But it must be fully resolved before the title company can issue a clean title and close the sale.

How Does a Child Support Lien Affect Your Ability to Sell?

Practically speaking, the lien puts a hold on your title. And a clouded title means you can’t transfer clean ownership to a buyer.

Most traditional buyers finance their purchases through lenders. That lender will not fund a loan on a property with an unresolved lien on title. The deal won’t close until the lien is handled.

Even if someone’s paying cash, they’re almost certainly going to want a clean title before handing over that kind of money. We’ve worked with sellers in this exact situation, and in every case, the lien had to be addressed before anything moved forward.

The lien also racks up interest at 10% per year. So the longer it sits there unresolved, the bigger that payoff number gets. If you’re already thinking about selling, sooner is genuinely better than later just on the math alone.

One more thing. If the lien balance exceeds your equity, you may be facing a short sale. That makes the situation more complex, but it’s not a dead end. It just means more negotiation up front before the sale can close.

How to Sell a Home With a Child Support Lien in Los Angeles, CA

A lot of people sit on this for months because they don’t know where to start. And that’s the worst thing you can do because the lien is growing the whole time. Here’s exactly what to do.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Step 1: Run a Title Search and Confirm the Lien

Before anything else, you need to know exactly what’s on your title. A full title search through a title company or the LA County Recorder’s Office will show you the lien amount, when it was recorded, who filed it, and whether there are any other liens you didn’t know about.

A lot of sellers find out there’s more than one thing sitting on their title at this stage. Better to know now than to have it surface later when you’re already in escrow, and the clock is ticking.

Step 2: Contact the Lienholder and Get a Payoff Amount

Once you’ve confirmed the lien, reach out to the DCSS or whoever filed it and request an official payoff statement. This number includes the original debt plus all the interest that’s accrued since the lien was recorded.

California runs at 10% interest per year, so if that lien has been sitting there for two or three years, the number you see might genuinely surprise you. Get the statement in writing, because that’s the figure your title company and attorney will be working from.

Step 3: Negotiate the Lien If You Can’t Pay in Full

A lot of people don’t realize this is even an option, but in some cases, you can push back on the payoff amount. Private lienholders are generally more open to this than the DCSS, especially when a real sale is happening, and the money is coming soon.

The argument that works best is simple: a guaranteed partial payment now versus an uncertain full payment later. Your attorney is the right person to make that case, not you directly, because a formal legal request carries a lot more weight than a phone call.

Step 4: Work With a Legal Professional

A California family law or real estate attorney is genuinely useful here, not just as a formality. They can review how the lien was filed and catch errors in the recorded amount. They can handle negotiations with the lienholder directly.

They also draft any settlement paperwork and ensure the court approval process for any negotiated reduction proceeds smoothly. If you go into this without legal help, you’re doing a job that requires specific knowledge of California lien law on your own. That’s where sellers tend to run into real problems.

Step 5: Settle the Lien at Closing Using Sale Proceeds

This is how the majority of these situations actually get resolved. At closing, the title company pulls the exact payoff amount from your sale proceeds and sends it directly to the lienholder before you receive the rest of your proceeds.

The main thing to make sure of is that your sale price covers the lien payoff, your mortgage balance, and your closing costs, with something left over for you.

If the numbers are tight, work that out with your attorney and title company before you accept an offer.

Step 6: Obtain and Record the Lien Release

After the lien is paid, the lienholder is legally required to give you a lien release document. Get it, then make sure it’s recorded with the LA County Recorder’s Office.

A lot of sellers assume this happens automatically and move on, but it doesn’t always. If that release isn’t recorded properly, the lien can still appear on future title searches even though you’ve already paid it off. Follow up and confirm it’s been filed.

Selling Your Los Angeles, CA Home With a Lien for Child Support: Can You Negotiate It Down?

Sometimes, you can negotiate a child support lien down. It’s one of the first questions worth asking before you assume the full payoff is non-negotiable.

Private lienholders are usually more flexible than the DCSS. When someone has been waiting years to collect, and a real sale is suddenly on the table, taking a slightly lower amount right now is better than waiting indefinitely for the full thing. That’s an advantage, even if it doesn’t feel that way.

The DCSS is different. They follow stricter guidelines and have less wiggle room. But even in those cases, it’s worth having your attorney make the ask.

We’ve seen situations where even small reductions made a meaningful difference for the seller’s bottom line.

What actually moves the needle in these conversations is showing up with something concrete. To be specific, a signed purchase agreement, a clear closing date, and an attorney presenting the offer on your behalf. That combination tells the lienholder this is real and the money is actually coming.

Just know that any negotiated settlement on a child support lien in California still needs court approval before it’s finalized. It adds a bit of time, so factor that into your closing timeline from the start.

What Happens If You Don’t Resolve the Lien Before Closing?

The sale doesn’t close if you don’t resolve the lien before closing. A title company cannot issue a clear title when an active lien is on the property. Without a clear title, the transaction is dead in the water.

If you’re working with a buyer who’s financing the purchase, their lender will catch the lien during underwriting and put the whole thing on hold.

That’s not a fun phone call to get, especially if you’re already weeks into escrow.

Cash buyers will catch it, too. Anyone doing their due diligence, which is everyone, will run a title search before handing over money.

An unresolved lien is a red flag that makes buyers walk away.

There’s also the money side of it. Every month that the lien remains unresolved, it grows at 10% per year. What feels like a manageable number today could look very different six months from now if the sale falls through and you’re starting over.

The worst-case scenario is the lienholder deciding to force a sale of the property to collect. That doesn’t happen overnight, but California law does give them that option if the debt sits long enough. Getting ahead of it is always better.

Refinancing Your Property When a Child Support Lien Is Attached

You can refinance with a child support lien on your title, but lenders will have opinions about it.

Most traditional lenders won’t approve a refinance on a property with an unresolved lien. It’s a liability for them, and their underwriting guidelines are very firm on this. You’ll likely need to clear the lien before the new loan can fund.

That said, some lenders will allow you to roll the lien payoff into the refinance itself, essentially using the new loan to settle the debt at closing.

It depends on how much equity you have in the property and how cooperative the lienholder is with the timeline.

If your goal with refinancing is to pull out equity to pay off the lien separately, that’s a conversation worth having with your lender early.

The lien affects your title, which affects the loan. Getting everyone on the same page upfront saves a lot of back-and-forth later.

One thing to know is that if the child support lien is large enough, it could affect your loan-to-value ratio and change what you qualify for.

Your lender will factor that into the numbers, so go in with realistic expectations about what the refinance can actually do for your situation.

Your Legal Options When Selling a House With a Child Support Lien in Los Angeles, CA

Child support liens come with specific legal mechanisms that regular property liens don’t have. Here are some tools you actually have access to that change the whole conversation.

Dispute the Lien

Child support lien amounts are calculated based on court records, and those records aren’t always accurate.

There may be payments made but not properly documented, calculation errors in the arrears, or liens filed after the obligation was satisfied.

An attorney can pull the payment history and cross-reference it against the recorded information. They can file a formal dispute if something doesn’t add up.

If the court agrees, the lien gets reduced or removed entirely before you ever get to closing.

Request a Hearing Before a Judge

California family courts have the authority to modify child support liens in cases of legitimate hardship. If the lien amount is preventing you from selling and meeting your current obligations, that’s exactly the kind of argument a judge can hear.

This works best when you have a real sale on the table, and you’re showing the court that resolving the lien now actually gets the custodial parent paid faster than waiting.

Judges respond to that logic, especially when an attorney is presenting it properly.

Satisfy the Lien Through Sale Proceeds

This is the path most sellers in Los Angeles take because it’s the cleanest. The child support debt gets paid directly at closing from your sale proceeds. That means the custodial parent gets what they’re owed, and your title clears.

There will be no courtroom or extended negotiations. As long as your equity covers the payoff, this is usually the fastest way through.

File for a Lien Release After Payment

Once the child support debt is satisfied, the lienholder is required under California law to provide a formal lien release. That release has to be recorded with the LA County Recorder’s Office to actually wipe it from your title.

This step matters because child support liens don’t just disappear when the debt is paid. If the release doesn’t get recorded, the lien stays on your title in the public record. That’s a problem for any future sale or refinance.

Work With a Family Law Attorney in Los Angeles

Child support liens in California sit at the intersection of family law and real estate law, which is a specific combination that not every attorney handles well.

A Los Angeles family law attorney who has dealt with DCSS and LA County Superior Court knows exactly how these cases move and what arguments actually land.

That’s crucial when you’re trying to resolve a lien on a timeline that works for your sale.

How Do Cash Buyers Handle Homes With Child Support Liens in Los Angeles?

Child support liens make traditional buyers anxious, mostly because their lenders make it very clear that unresolved liens are a problem. Cash buyers are different.

Without a lender involved, there’s no underwriting process flagging the child support lien as a reason to pause or kill the deal. Cash home buyers in California can look at the full picture and factor the lien payoff into the offer. They can keep things moving without the back-and-forth that derails traditional sales.

We’ve worked with sellers in LA who had significant child support liens on their titles. In most of those cases, the lien was paid at closing.

The title company handled the payoff directly, and the custodial parent got their money. The seller walked away with whatever equity was left.

The other thing cash buyers understand is timing. Child support liens grow at 10% per year, and every month a traditional sale drags on is another month that the balance is climbing.

A faster close isn’t just convenient; it’s better for your bottom line.

Other Types of Liens on a Property

Child support liens get a lot of attention, but they’re rarely the only thing that shows up on a title search in Los Angeles. Here’s what else you might be dealing with.

Mortgage Liens

This is the most common one and the least problematic. When you took out your home loan, your lender automatically got a lien on the property as collateral. It gets paid off at closing when you sell, simple as that.

If you have a second mortgage or a home equity line of credit, they appear as separate liens with their own payoff amounts. All of them come out of your proceeds before you see a dollar.

Tax Liens

Tax liens are filed by the government when property taxes or income taxes go unpaid. In California, these are serious because they can take priority over almost everything else on your title, including your mortgage.

The IRS and the California Franchise Tax Board both have the authority to file these, and they don’t wait around.

If you’ve got a tax lien alongside a child support lien, figuring out the priority order is something your title company and attorney need to sort out early.

Judgment Liens

A judgment lien gets recorded when someone sues you, wins, and files that court judgment against your property. It could be from a creditor, a former business partner, or pretty much anyone who took you to court and got a favorable ruling.

Child support liens are technically a type of judgment lien in California, which is part of why they carry so much legal weight.

If you’ve got both a child support lien and a separate judgment lien, expect the priority conversation to get a little complicated.

Mechanic’s Liens

If a contractor did work on your LA property and didn’t get paid, they can file a mechanic’s lien against it. These are really common in California, especially after renovations or major repairs.

The complicated part is that mechanics’ liens have strict filing deadlines, but they can still sneak up on sellers who thought the contractor situation was handled. Always confirm with your title company that any past construction work is fully settled.

HOA Liens

If your property is part of a homeowners’ association and you’ve fallen behind on dues or fines, the HOA can place a lien on your home.

In California, HOAs have serious collection power and can even initiate foreclosure in extreme cases.

These tend to be smaller dollar amounts than a child support lien, but they still have to be resolved before your title clears. Don’t assume a small balance is too minor to matter at closing.

IRS Liens

A federal tax lien from the IRS is one of the more complicated ones to deal with because it involves a federal agency with its own timeline and process. The IRS files these when federal income taxes go unpaid. They attach to everything you own, not just your real estate.

Getting an IRS lien released requires working directly with the IRS, which is its own process.

If you’ve got one of these alongside a child support lien, get an attorney involved immediately because the resolution timeline affects your entire sale.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Can a child support lien stop me from selling my house in Los Angeles?

It can’t stop the sale outright, but it will stop the title from clearing if it’s not resolved. And without a clear title, the sale can’t close. The lien has to be paid off or formally released before ownership transfers to your buyer.

Who pays off the child support lien when selling a property in California?

You do, as the seller. But in most cases, the payoff comes directly from your sale proceeds at closing. The title company handles the logistics, so you’re not writing a separate check before the sale happens.

How long does a child support lien last in California?

California child support liens don’t expire the way some other liens do. They stay on your property until the full debt is paid or a court orders their release. And the whole time they’re sitting there, they’re accruing 10% annual interest.

What is the difference between a judgment lien and a child support lien?

Child support liens are a specific type of judgment lien in California, but they carry extra legal weight. They can’t be discharged in bankruptcy, and they don’t expire. They can jump ahead of other liens in the priority order under certain conditions.

Can I sell my home if I still owe child support but haven’t been served a lien yet?

Yes, but tread carefully. If a lien is recorded between the time you list your home and the time you close, it will appear in the title search and affect the sale. Getting ahead of any outstanding child support balance before you list is the smarter move.

Does the title company automatically handle the lien at closing?

The title company handles the payoff logistics, yes. But they’re not going to negotiate the amount or deal with any disputes on your behalf. That’s what your attorney is for. The title company’s job is to make sure the money gets to the right place at closing.

Key Takeaways: Selling a House With a Child Support Lien in Los Angeles, CA

A child support lien on your LA property feels like a lot to carry, and if you’ve been stressing about what it means for your ability to sell, that’s completely understandable. The good news is that this is solvable. Sellers get through this every day in Los Angeles, and most of them come out the other side with their sale closed and the debt finally behind them.

Be sure to loop in an attorney early, and don’t let that 10% interest keep climbing while you sit on it.

If you’re ready to stop worrying about it and just get it done, Eazy House Sale works with homeowners in situations like this. We buy homes in Los Angeles with child support liens attached. We know how the process works, and we’ll walk through it with you without making it feel overwhelming. Contact us at (855) 915-1382 or fill out the form below, and let’s figure out your next step together.