There is nothing good about divorce and we often experience problems we didn’t expect. One of those issues is child support and sometimes, it can take you by surprise. Toni Anderson is an ex-wife in California who was seeking back child support payments. After her ex-husband abandoned the responsibilities of being a father, he didn’t pay. Now that 50 years have passed, she is finally getting $150,000 in child support.

The couple divorced in the 1970s and her ‘deadbeat ex’ headed north into Canada so he didn’t have to pay child support. She continued to raise her daughter and eventually put her through college.

At the same time, she worked as an interior designer to make ends meet. Now, she is a 74-year-old retiree. One night, she had an idea she hadn’t thought of before. She started looking through old paperwork and found that her husband was supposed to pay $160 per month.

When her ex moved back to the United States, he never bothered paying a dime. What he may not have known is that there is no statute of limitations in California on child support. The back payments, plus 10% accrued interest and the bill is now $170,000.

It isn’t completely out of the ordinary for child support to be court ordered and paid to adult children. In some cases, the courts will even garnish wages.

Anderson’s daughter will now benefit from the arrangement and the settlement. She is 52-years-old now. She wants her story to be an example to other single moms out there.

You can watch this clip to see how it turned out: