Child Support Lien

[smofJ]

Soc-

State: IN

My aunt passed away on Thursday.  She has been away from the family for a long time now. She had no life insurance or any money.  My family was wanting to sell her truck to help pay for the funeral.  She had one child, who is now 20 and her father had sole custody.  There is a child support lien on the vehicle.  We have tried to reach the daughter to get funeral arrangements and POA take care of, but her father doesn't want any communication from our family.  

Is there any way to get a lien removed due to death?

Can anyone in my family get POA due to the lack of communication?

Thank You

[socrateaser]

>Is there any way to get a lien removed due to death?

No. The lien has priority, as does the other parent's right to whatever money is in the truck, before any money can be used to pay for the decedent's funeral. The only possibility is that IN law may provide that an adult child is responsible for the cost of their parent's burial. So, if you do nothing, then the state will come back to the child for the money to pay that bill.

If such a law actually is in place in IN, then you could pay for the burial and then sue the child in quasi-contract for receiving the unjust benefit of the burial expenses paid at your expense. It's a weird sort of legal theory, but in small claims or probate court, a judge might find it outrageous that the child didn't contribute for the mother's burial.

>Can anyone in my family get POA due to the lack of
>communication?

A power of attorney is terminated at the moment of death, as are all agencies. After death, you must be appointed executor by the probate court, in order to control the disposition of the decedent's estate, which in this case is apparently a "truck."

So, lack of communication in this case is irrelevant. The other parent can approach the probate court and ask that the truck be ordered sold to pay the lien. The child as heir will be then entitled to any funds that remain via the intestacy statutes.

Sorry, but you're SOL. My advice to your family is: (1) pay for the funeral and put this whole affair behind you; (2) don't pay for the funeral and the state will bury her and possibly go after the child for the costs; (3) pay for the funeral and ask the probate court to disburse funds from the truck after the support lien is paid to pay for the unjust benefit received by the child at your expense.

The other parent, however, is off the hook completely, because he is legally entitled to the support and no responsibility to pay for the mother's debts.