What Can I Do if My Former Spouse Refuses to Make Alimony Payments?

When couples divorce, oftentimes, one spouse will be required to make regular alimony payments. Unfortunately, there are times where this spouse will refuse to make those payments. This is both illegal and unfair, and if this has happened to you, you are most likely concerned about where to go from here. Please continue reading and contact our New Jersey family law attorneys to learn more about alimony enforcement and how our firm can assist you. Here are some of the questions you may have:

How is alimony decided upon in New Jersey?

New Jersey courts will consider many different factors and aspects of your and your former spouse’s lives when determining your alimony agreement, including you and your spouse’s yearly income, you and your spouse’s age and health, whether you are retired, you and your spouse’s earning potential, whether you have any children/what you child custody agreement entails, and more.

What can I do if my former spouse is refusing to abide by our alimony agreement?

When a former spouse decides that he or she will simply refuse to make the alimony payments to which you are entitled, there is a very good chance that you are now considering your legal options. However, if you can, and your former spouse has only missed one or two alimony payments, you should consider first speaking with him/her to see if you can remedy the problem on your own. This is a far simpler solution than entering the legal process. However, if you know that your former spouse will not listen or cooperate, or you’ve already tried talking, you should strongly consider retaining the services of an experienced Morris County family law attorney who can file a motion with the NJ court system to enforce your alimony agreement. Some of the actions a judge may take are as follows:

• Garnish your former spouse’s wages and put them towards alimony.
• Issue heavy fines, sanctions, or even jail time to your former spouse.
• Place a lien on your former spouse’s property, so when he or she sells that property, a portion of the money will go towards missed alimony payments.
• The judge may order that your former spouse pays interest on any missed alimony payments.
• A judge may draft a “writ of execution,” directing his or her bank to deduct money from his or her bank account and transfer it to your bank account.

If you have any further questions, or you are ready to proceed, please do not hesitate to speak with our firm today. We are here to assist you.

Contact our experienced New Jersey firm

If you require strong legal representation for matters related to divorce or family law, Haber Silver Russoniello & Dunn is here to help. We proudly represent clients in Morris County and throughout the state of New Jersey. Contact our firm today to schedule a consultation.