Definition
Money that is overdue and unpaid after having become legally owed. An arrearage (or arrear) is the amount remaining outstanding on an obligation that was due to be paid at a fixed time or by installment and was not. The term applies most frequently in three contexts:
1. Support obligations. Unpaid child support or spousal support that has accumulated past its due date. Once a support payment becomes overdue, it typically converts by operation of law into a judgment debt — fixed, enforceable, and not subject to retroactive modification.
2. Rent. The portion of rent past due and unpaid to a landlord. At common law, a right to distrain (seize personal property) arose from arrears of rent, making the precise calculation of arrearages central to the legality of the landlord's remedy.
3. Interest and installment obligations. Overdue installments of interest, principal, or periodic payments on any obligation where payment was due at specified intervals.
The plural forms "arrears" and "arrearages" are used interchangeably in both statutes and case law. There is no technical distinction between them.
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Common Language
Modern common usage (Wiktionary): A state of being behind in the fulfillment of obligations; the amount owed that is overdue.
Historical common usage (Webster's 1913): "That which is in the rear, or behind, in payment, or which remains unpaid, though due; as, arrears of rent, wages, or taxes."
The common and legal meanings are closely aligned, but the legal usage carries additional technical weight: in the family law and landlord-tenant contexts, arrearages are not merely informally "overdue" — they trigger specific enforcement mechanisms, accrue interest by statute, and, particularly in child support, are treated as vested judgment debts immune from retroactive reduction. A researcher who reads "arrears" in a legal document should immediately ask which enforcement regime applies, not merely how much is owed.
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Why It Matters in Research
**Family law sources require particular attention.** The rule that child support arrearages vest and cannot be retroactively modified is a product of 20th-century statutory and case law development. Pre-20th century sources — including Rapalje & Lawrence — treat arrearages primarily in the landlord-tenant and debt contexts. Researchers working on historical child support disputes should not assume early sources reflect the modern non-modifiability principle.
**Distress and distraint.** In 19th-century and earlier common law sources, arrearages of rent are the trigger condition for the landlord's right to distrain. The calculation and legal character of rent arrears is therefore central to understanding distress remedies. Researchers in this area will find arrearages treated in detail in the same sources covering distress, ejectment, and landlord-tenant obligations.
**Interest accrual.** Whether arrearages themselves accrue interest — and at what rate — varies by statute and context. Many family law statutes now impose mandatory interest on support arrearages; older sources are silent on this or treat it inconsistently.
**Spelling variation in historical sources.** Older reports and treatises use "arrearages," "arrears," "arrearage," and occasionally "arrere" without distinction. Index and full-text searches in historical corpora should account for all variants.
**Bankruptcy intersection.** Support arrearages occupy a distinct position in federal bankruptcy law — they are generally non-dischargeable, which sets them apart from most ordinary debt obligations. Researchers crossing between family law and bankruptcy corpora should track this distinction carefully, as historical sources predate the modern non-dischargeability framework.
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Historical Dictionary Support
Rapalje & Lawrence define "arrears" as "money remaining unpaid after it has become due; as rent in arrears; also called arrearages." The entry is brief and oriented toward the landlord-tenant context, reflecting the term's primary practical importance in 19th-century American and English practice. The definition accurately captures the core meaning but offers no treatment of support obligations (an anachronism — regular court-administered child support orders were not a prominent feature of the legal landscape at the time of publication) and no discussion of the legal consequences that attach once an arrearage accrues.
Historical dictionaries as a class treat arrears as a descriptive financial term rather than a term of legal art with procedural consequences. The modern researcher needs to supplement historical dictionary authority with statutory sources and case law to understand what arrears do, not merely what they are.
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Jurisdictional Note
In family law, the non-modifiability of accrued child support arrearages is nearly universal across American jurisdictions, but the interest rate that applies, the procedures for enforcement, and the availability of arrears compromise programs vary significantly by state. Researchers should identify the applicable state statute before relying on general statements about arrearage enforcement.
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