Opinion ID: 1276084
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Failure to List Support as Asset in Bankruptcy

Text: The mother filed a bankruptcy petition in 1985 in Utah and did not list past-due child support as an asset. The father contends that the mother's failure to list the past-due child support as an asset judicially estops her from asserting a claim to the arrearages in Wyoming. The father relies on Zwemer v. Production Credit Association of Midlands, 792 P.2d 245 (Wyo.1990), to support his argument. The father's reliance on this case is misplaced. Although a person who is filing for bankruptcy must list all her assets, she is not required to include child support arrearages. 792 P.2d at 247; Cranston v. Cranston, 879 P.2d 345, 349 (Wyo.1994). Unpaid child support is not an asset of the parent but is the children's money which the parent administers in trust for the children's benefit. Cranston, 879 P.2d at 349. The mother's decision not to list this claim as an asset in her bankruptcy proceeding was appropriate given that it was not an asset of her estate. She is, therefore, not judicially estopped from asserting her current claim for the child support arrearages.