What should I do about the spousal support that has not abided by my husband?

Question

My husband has not abided by the judgement entered against him as far as making payments. He has refuse certified mail. What are my options?

John Rivers · Answer

In many jurisdictions you have several options. Among them are:  1.    Garnishment against his wages 2.    Recoding a lien against his real estate 3.    An action to have him held in contempt of court  Speak with the lawyer that represented you in the divorce about enforcing the judgment.

Kenneth Friedman · Answer

You can file a Motion for Contempt and/or Enforcement and get that set for   hearing.  You should consult with an attorney at your earliest  opportunity.

George Seide · Answer

If he was properly served with the order requiring spousal support, get an attorney to file a contempt of court action against him. He must be personally served.

Dennis P. Mikko · Answer

If the spousal suport was ordered in the Judgment of Divorce you could ask the Friend of the Court to collect it for you.  The Friend of the Court can have the court issue a show cause order if it is not paid.  You can also attempt to collect it on your own by filing a motion seeking a show cause order.  The show cause order would require your ex-husband to come to court and show cause as to why he should not be held in contempt of court.  If you know where he works, you could also ask the court to issue an income withholding order requiring his employer to take the spousal support directly from his check.  This would be done if you asked the Friend of the Court for enforcement assistance.

Melvin Franke · Answer

Hire an attorney and put him in jail

Leonard A. Kaanta · Answer

Take to court, have the sheriff serve him.

Michael Yeksavich · Answer

Cite him for contempt of court.

Kathleen M. Schmidt · Answer

File Contempt Proceedings and serve him by Sheriff.

Robert De Groot · Answer

File a motion for contempt and have him served with it and a notice of the hearing. Get an attorney.

William Spern · Answer

Not easy, You will have to go to court to get a show cause hearing as to why he should not be held in contempt for disobeying a court order. The order must be served on him personally or if his location is unknown, you can ask the court for an order for alternative service of posting at last known address mailing be certified mail to last known address and publishing for weeks in a paper of record a copy of the Order for Contempt.

Cathy Cook · Answer

When you say he has refused certified mail, it makes me think you have filed a motion for contempt, which is what you should do.  You can have a process server deliver the summons to him personally, or you can have it served at his work.  If he is currently allowed to pay it directly, you can ask the court to change it to a wage deduction order.

John Brennan · Answer

Take collection action. Garnish his wages. Lien his assets and execute against them. Take and sell his car. He will get the picture.

Ryan Maesen · Answer

If you are using Friend of the Court, call them. If not, ask the Family   Court how to file a show cause motion.

Mark Smith · Answer

Sounds like you may need to file a Motion for an Order to Show Cause why he should not be held in contempt / Motion to Reduce Arrears to Judgment.  Of course one would need more specific information in order to ensure that these steps are most appropriate action.

Dennis Leffert · Answer

Take him back to Court and ask the Judge to find him in Contempt and force him to pay.

Dean Esposito · Answer

If he has not made payments and violated the judgment, You can file a motion for contempt to get him to pay you what he owes plus attorney's fees and court costs.

Barbara Peyton · Answer

If you have a court order for payment of spousal support and he has a job, a wage assignment can be issued by the court and the employer will send you payment each pay day.  If he does not have a job, and you know where he banks, you can get a writ of execution issued by the court to levy on his bank account. Sometimes this stuff gets pretty tricky and you may need an attorney for some help.

Mark Brown · Answer

Make a Motion for Contempt, Judgment, and for Attorney fees. Once you have a judgment, garnish his wages and his bank accounts.

Marc John Weinpel · Answer

You have many options. The first is an action for contempt which you should bring against him.  You should "reduce" the amount owed to a judgment and start garnishment of his wages.

Robert Merlin · Answer

You can file a Motion for Contempt to ask the judge to force him to pay you. You are entitled to the entry of an Income Deduction Order that would require his employer to pay you out of his salary. If he owes you child support, you can contact the local State Attorney's Child Support Enforcement office, who would represent you for free. If you cannot afford to hire an attorney, call your local Legal Aid office.

Tres Porter · Answer

File an order to show cause for contempt.

Janis Blough · Answer

It would be wisest to secure the help of an experienced attorney. If your husband is refusing to use certified mail to send his payments, but the payments are arriving safely and on a timely basis, it may not pay to try to enforce the certified mail requirement. If you have not received some of his payments and he has not replaced them, you may want to proceed with a "show cause" petition to enforce certified mailings or seek modification of the Judgment to require payments through Friend of the Court. Then that office can "garnishee" payments directly from his employer, pension, etc. and can enforce when he doesn't pay with no further expense to you (NOTE: There may be an initial delay in getting? your payments through CSES, but you'll save in the long run).

John Kirchner · Answer

File a motion to enforce the court ordered support obligation by the initiation of contempt proceedings.  If the court finds that he is fully capable of paying the obligation and is willfully refusing to do so, he can be  punished by the court.  Punitive measures can include fines and possible incarceration.

Gregory Crain · Answer

You should file contempt.

Glenn Tanner · Answer

Seek to have him held in contempt.

Frances Headley · Answer

If the order is in a Judgment then you have all of the collection options open to any judgment creditor including wage garnishment, attaching payments or property due him; levying on bank accounts etc.  You should consult a family law attorney to review all of the facts and assist you in choosing the best options.

Jeffrey Salberg · Answer

Serve him with an Order to Show Cause personally through a constable.

Steven Burkhalter · Answer

A motion for contempt.

James Albert Bordonaro · Answer

File a motion to enforce or contempt (generally these should be notarized) which will require that he show up in court and explain why he hasn't paid. If he still refuses he can be held in contempt.

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What should I do about the spousal support that has not abided by my husband?

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