How do I Enforce a Court Order which has been made in financial proceedings?

If one party defaults on the terms of an Order made in financial proceedings following divorce, there are various methods available to enforce the Order depending on the type of Order that has been breached.

The first step in the enforcement of an Order is to obtain information about the means of the other party by making an Application to the Court for an Order that the defaulting party attends Court to give information. The Court can then be asked to decide which is the best method of enforcement to pursue.

Where monies are owed, the available methods of enforcement are:-

Attachment of earnings

Only available if the payer is in employment, as the Order attaches to the payer’s income and is deducted by the employer and paid to the Court before being paid to the payee

Warrant of control

It is possible to have a warrant of control to have the payer’s goods and chattels seized and sold

Charging order

A Charging Order can be used to secure various debts owed by the payer to the payee, for example:

A lump sum order
Maintenance arrears
Costs orders
CMS arrears
Any sum of interest due under the terms of the original order

Third party debt order

Only applicable if the payer is owed money from a third party. An application can be made that the third party pays the payee that money rather than the payer.

Judgment Summons/Committal to Prison

A Judgment Summons, if successful, will see the payer in prison for failing to pay his debts. This does not in itself secure payment but instead is a way of getting a difficult payer to pay what is outstanding or face prison.

Order for Sale

If the payer has failed to pay monies owed and you have secured a Charging Order, an Application can then be made to the Court for an Order for Sale of the payee’s property

If the original Order provides for a property to be sold or transferred and one party is being unco-operative, an application can be made for the Deed of Transfer of the property to be signed by a Judge.

Watson Thomas Solicitors have offices in Fleet, Hampshire and Guildford, Surrey

If you would like to discuss your current situation with our team, please call us at our Fleet Office on 01252 622422 or our Guildford Office on 01483 320114. Alternatively, you can submit your details and we'll arrange a free, no obligation callback at a time to suit you.