Legal Question in Family Law in California

Depends if the money is owed to your Mother or the county for reimbursement of welfare. If its not owed to the county your mother can negotiate a lump sum settlement if your father is in position to make a lump sum payment. YourMother would want to make the deal attractive for your Father to want to pay in a lump sum.

It depends on other issues too, such as whether your mother ever got an order in place to pay child support.