Besides being extremely emotional, divorces are usually expensive. It’s even worse when one partner is required to pay alimony to the spouse earning less money. While some spouses don’t have a problem paying, others don’t want to.
Are you in a position where your spouse has refused to pay spousal support? Here is how to collect unpaid alimony.
Go for contempt of court.
The purpose of this is to get a court action that forces your ex to make the payments. You need to work with your spousal support lawyers and ask the court to find your partner in contempt for not following the rules given by the court.
During the contempt hearing, your ex has an opportunity to defend themselves and show reasons why the court should hold them in contempt. On the other hand, you have a burden of proof of showing that the other party has refused to obey the court order.
To increase the chances of winning, you should come with all the necessary documentation bearing all the payments you have received and the last time you received it. You can also come with email or phone evidence of your ex agreeing they are behind on payments.
If the judge finds your ex-partner in contempt, they might ask your ex to pay a certain amount of alimony on the same day, within a specified time, or face jail time.
Get a Writ of execution.
A writ of execution is a court order that allows an enforcing officer to seize the debtor’s property to pay for their debts. Here the amount seized is what the debtor owes you.
If you have tried the above channel and still your ex won’t make the payments, you can get a writ of execution. If successful, the court can award you the debtor’s bank account, part of their property, or any other assets deemed acceptable by the court.
Get an income withholding order.
Income withholding is a court order that requires your former spouse’s employer to withhold a portion of their salary and send it directly to you. This is great as you get the money directly from the employer without dealing with a spouse who is refusing to pay.
Remember that for you to get this order, you need to show that your partner owes you money. It’s after you have shown that beyond reasonable doubt that your partner has refused to make the payments that the judge will issue an order requiring your partner’s employer to withhold a certain amount of money and send it to you.
Different states have different rules regarding how much income can be garnished and the types of income exempt from garnishment. For example, social security benefits or unemployment can’t be subjected to garnishment.
Other alimony collection methods
Besides the above ways, the judge can decide to get alimony in plenty of other ways. For example, they might request the driver’s license or professional license suspension until the nonpaying partner makes the payments.
The judge can also garnish a bank account in some cases and even seize tax returns, rents, lottery winnings, and other income.
You can also file a lien against property owned by your ex-spouse or even get money from your ex-spouses cash register.
Which is the best way to collect alimony?
There is no good way to go about it, and you shouldn’t take the raw in your hands. When your former spouse stops making the payments, don’t force them to do it. Move to court with your divorce lawyers Fairfax VA, present your case and let the judge analyze the case and give the best way forward.
