As well as the usual emotional turmoil and stress you can expect to go hand-in-hand with even the most collaborative of divorces, if you’ve taken a significant break from your career to raise the children or support your former spouse with their plans, you may face considerable financial issues when you no longer benefit from their earnings. Alimony can get a bad press at times, particularly as many people view it as a way to get more money from a former spouse, rather than a valid claim. However, if your earning potential has been limited by a lengthy time away from employment, or a need to care for a child with special needs, alimony could be invaluable. When you’re relying on payments from your former spouse to keep your new household running, what do you do should the payments suddenly stop?
Is Your Former Spouse Avoiding Alimony?
Whatever the reasons behind your claim to alimony, the fact remains that, if a court has decreed that you are entitled to the payments, your former spouse must meet this obligation. For example, it has been known for assets to be transferred to a new partner, in an attempt to avoid paying alimony to an ex.
If you’ve found yourself in this position, the good news is that, in Aventura and other parts of Florida, alimony payments are treated just like any other financial obligation. As such, just as you cannot decide to simply stop paying your mortgage or utility bills, you can’t put a halt to your alimony payments while the obligation remains valid.
It’s common for a person withholding alimony payments to state that they are unable to pay due to a change in circumstances, and this is why you need help from an Aventura child support attorney and divorce attorney.
How an Aventura Divorce Attorney Can Help
If your former spouse is refusing to pay the alimony due to you, an Aventura divorce attorney has several methods of getting your money. Similarly to dealing with missed child support payments, a petition will be filed in family court, requesting the judge to enforce the alimony order. If the non-payment seems to be intentional, the judge can decide to order:
- A money judgement, the first order needed for a court to recover outstanding alimony payments. This will state how much is owed, and enable the court to take steps towards collection
- A Writ of Execution is a legal document which can permit the seizure of certain property, which will then be sold and the proceeds paid to the person to which alimony is owed
- A Writ of Garnishment is an alternative measure, where the court can order that the missed alimony payments are deducted directly from a salary. This is normally used where no assets are available to be seized and sold, and has the added benefit of being recurring, meaning future missed payments are prevented.
To schedule a consultation and discuss how an Aventura divorce attorney could recover alimony payments you’re owed, call us today on 786-558-4950.
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