Receiving a Divorce Judgment
Receiving a Divorce Judgment
Divorce proceedings can be complicated and result in a variety of outcomes. One of the possible outcomes during the process is the payment of money due to a judgment. Given a certain legal justification, the family court may order one of the spouses to pay money to the other spouse. If you are involved in family law proceedings and owed a judgment, your spouse paying the money is called the debtor. It is important to note that judgments are court ordered and the debtor is required to pay you the money. When navigating this process, we highly encourage you to hire legal counsel.
Collecting the Judgment
Once the court’s judgment has been entered and nothing is stopping the order, you are entitled to collect the judgment. The debtor spouse is required to pay by a certain time period and in certain cases, the two former spouses can choose to create an agreed upon payment plan. Family law judgments do incur interest when not paid; therefore, it is of great concern to all parties that there are clearly set deadlines and payment expectations. In most cases, you can write a letter that details your need for reasonably timed payments and the consequences of a failure to do so. If you decide to create a payment plan instead of receiving the entirety of the judgment at once, you may choose to have the debtor pay you on a specific schedule.
The Debtor Fails to Pay the Judgment
Family law issues, like divorce, are adversarial in nature and can, at times, result in less than amicable relations. In some cases, the debtor may refuse to pay the ordered judgment. That does not necessarily leave you without the money you are owed, as there are possible recourses against the debtor’s failure to pay. Some of the ways in which you can receive your judgment include a levy on their bank account, receiving money from their salary, or, in some scenarios, issuing a Writ of Execution.
