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You have both been through a divorce and prevailed in alimony; however your ex will not pay. How do you solve this problem? There is a good chance that you will not like the answer because it entails a return visit to the Court. Your need for a lawyer will be dependent upon how complex your case is. Because a Final Judgment is involved, this gives you an enforceable right to be paid, which was established by law. You will be given several ways in which to enforce this law, one of which is one of the easiest and best ways. This simply involves you requesting payment through an IWO or Income Withholding Order. Most divorce cases are settled out of court - about 95 percent - and some of the people in these cases never think to ask for an IWO. Instead they simply agree to "direct" payments made between the two ex-spouses. In some cases this will work very well, but for the most part you would be better off to take the more direct route. According to the court system, "An IWO is an order signed by the judge that is premised upon a Final Judgment or Order that has found entitlement to support." This means that all funds owed to the obligee are directed via the IWO to be removed automatically before the obligor gets his or her paycheck and can spend any of it. The funds are sent to the Central Government Depository or CGD, where a check will be cut and sent to the obligee directly. This method will guarantee that the obligor does in fact meet his or her obligation. It also gives the payment the support of debt dominance. Therefore, your first and best way of ensuring payment is to put in a request with the Court for an IWO. You should know however, that the only way this solution will work is if your ex-spouse is employed by a third party. If your ex-spouse is self-employed, you can still use the IWO method, but it will present more of a challenge. Another method you can use is contempt, when your ex-spouse is behind in support payment. To use this method, you will have to file a motion for contempt with which ever court originally issued the judgment. This will alert the judge of the obligor spouse who is not fulfilling his or her obligation. Along with alerting the judge, the contempt motion will also trigger a hearing where the judge makes the decision of whether there is any reasonable excuse for the obligor's non-payment; the judge will then assess the obligor's ability to pay. Depending on the contemnor’s ability to pay and his or her circumstances, he or she may be ordered to pay at least partial or even an entire lump sum so that the obligation will be brought current. The obligor may also be assessed an arrearage payment to be made in monthly installments. It is also possible they might or might not be given a temporary reduction, or a grace period during the time the arrearage accrues. Your ex-spouse may also find him or herself in jail, depending upon the circumstances. Many people have attempted to go through these processes alone by using online forms and or pro se case managers who will help you, but it is highly recommended to have the assistance of an experienced and trained attorney, because there is very often the matter of the enforcement being nuanced, which can depend on many issues. The main thing to remember is that if you are entitled, unless or until the Court excuses your ex-spouse from his or her obligation, you have every right to pursue the enforcement of the obligation. The details of your particular case will be the deciding factor as to whether your enforcement is successful.
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Alimony, Divorce law, family law, tampa lawyer, Tampa divorce attorney, Rechel and associates, Tampa law,
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