Except as otherwise provided by statute:
§ 703.070.Judgment For Child, Family Or Spousal Support
Title 9. Enforcement of Judgments · Division 2 · Chapter 4. Exemptions · Article 1. General Provisions · Last amended 1994 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 703.070 extends the ordinary exemptions to judgments for child, family, or spousal support, protects automatically-exempt property from being used to satisfy such a judgment, but lets the court, on the support creditor's noticed motion, order otherwise-exempt property applied to the support judgment after weighing both sides' needs and other relevant circumstances.
Full Text of § 703.070
(a) The exemptions provided by this chapter or by any other statute apply to a judgment for child, family, or spousal support.
(b) If property is exempt without making a claim, the property is not subject to being applied to the satisfaction of a judgment for child, family, or spousal support.
(c) Except as provided in subdivision (b), if property sought to be applied to the satisfaction of a judgment for child, family, or spousal support is shown to be exempt under subdivision (a) in appropriate proceedings, the court shall, upon noticed motion of the judgment creditor, determine the extent to which the exempt property nevertheless shall be applied to the satisfaction of the judgment. In making this determination, the court shall take into account the needs of the judgment creditor, the needs of the judgment debtor and all the persons the judgment debtor is required to support, and all other relevant circumstances. The court shall effectuate its determination by an order specifying the extent to which the otherwise exempt property is to be applied to the satisfaction of the judgment.
Plain-English Summary
Support creditors don't automatically get to reach a debtor's exempt property just because the judgment is for child, family, or spousal support. Subdivision (a) applies the same exemptions available against any other judgment. Subdivision (b) protects property that's exempt without a claim from being applied to a support judgment at all.
Property that requires a claim to become exempt gets weaker protection here than elsewhere. Subdivision (c) lets a support creditor bring a noticed motion asking the court to apply otherwise-exempt property to the judgment anyway. The court then weighs the support creditor's needs against the needs of the debtor and everyone the debtor is legally required to support, along with any other relevant circumstances, and issues an order specifying how much of the exempt property gets applied.
That balancing test reflects the reality that support obligations compete directly with a debtor's own support needs — the same needs most exemptions exist to protect in the first place.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do exemptions apply when the judgment is for child or spousal support?
Yes, under § 703.070(a), the same exemptions apply to a support judgment as to any other money judgment, except as otherwise provided by statute.
Can property exempt without a claim ever be reached by a support judgment?
Not under subdivision (b) alone — but a support creditor can still bring a noticed motion under subdivision (c) asking the court to apply exempt property, whether or not a claim was required, to the support judgment.
What does the court consider on that motion?
The needs of the support creditor, the needs of the debtor and everyone the debtor must support, and any other relevant circumstances, before ordering how much exempt property to apply.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats. 1992, Ch. 163, Sec. 37. Effective January 1, 1993. Operative January 1, 1994, by Sec. 161 of Ch. 163.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: exemptions and child support judgment californiaspousal support exempt property california