In a case of two separate (unpaid) judgments (both in the state of New York) which would take precedence:?

Question

An unpaid child support judgment, rendered in favor of the first wife, or a later judgment in favor of the second wife? The second wife was still legally married to the defendant, although there was a separation agreement. The defendant is now deceased. Which might hold more weight, the order (age) of the judgments, or the marital status of each plaintiff? The estate is not large enough to honor/pay either of the judgments in full. Would one preclude the other, or would the court look to apportion an amount to each judgment?

Answer 1

Most likely the first judgement since the courts operate on a first in time principal. However, you don't give enough facts on the second wife who was separated at the time of the judgment.

From your posting, I'm getting the idea that the 2nd wife obtained a judgment against the decedent during the divorce proceedings, but that he might have died before the final divorce decree.

If that's the case, then they were still legally married and no final divorce decree occurred. If this is the case, then she may be able to escape the first judgment depending on whether or not the assets were fully in his name. I'm not familiar with how NY handles the assets of married people since I'm from California and California is a Community Property State.

I would assume that if the decedents assets were in his name only, then the judgment would need to be satisfied first. If the assets were still in joint title, then the minute that the decedent passed, the 2nd wife would automatically gain title to the asset and effective render the 1st wife's judgment useless.

For example, the 2nd wife and decedent owned a home in joint tenancy with rights of survivorship. Once one of the parties dies, the other automatically takes title to the property without question and any judgments against the decedent are rendered null.

Hope this helps. Recommend seeing an attorney about this.

Answer 2

When my hubby had to pay for a situation similar to that, the first child came first in the courts eyes. They got the most money. Simply because they were the first order. Not fair, but that's how they did it. (Indiana)