contempt of court

[Jill Russell]

I got divorced in '99 in Colorado. My ex still lives there, I am in Canada. Part of our seperation agreement was for him to pay back money that I lent him during our marriage. He has had two years to do it, and has paid some but not all of the amount and is refusing to pay the rest. What recourse do I have? and can I file a garnishing order? He is self employed with his own business and runs very little money thru his personal account. CAn I garnish his business account? Thanks for any advise, jr

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

I got divorced in '99 in Colorado. My ex still lives there, I am in Canada. Part of our seperation agreement was for him to pay back money that I lent him during our marriage. He has had two years to do it, and has paid some but not all of the amount and is refusing to pay the rest. What recourse do I have? and can I file a garnishing order? He is self employed with his own business and runs very little money thru his personal account. CAn I garnish his business account? Thanks for any advise, jr

My response:

What you have is an "Order" from the Colorado court. Now, he's in "Contempt of Court". So, in order for you to collect, you'll need to go back to the Colorado court to file an "Order to Show Cause" to have your ex explain to the court why he has failed to follow the court order. Then, when he's unable to do that, he may get a fine, a weekend in jail, or both. While that's happening, the judge will convert the Order into a "Judgment". Then, you'll be able to file more papers, and make another visit to Colorado to start the Writ proceeding which will allow you to attach property and wages - - assuming after he gets out of jail he still fails and refuses to pay you.

The big question here, however, is whether the amount he still owes you is worth the trouble? You see, the above explanation requires about 3 or more trips to the Colorado court - - which translates into time, money, and other inconveniences. Your ex is banking on the fact that you're in Canada, and won't waste your time and money any further.

So, only you can determine whether it's worthwhile for you to go through these additional measures.

IAAL

 

[Jill Russell]

Order to show cause

dear I AM ALWAYS LIABLE, thanks for the response. Is there a way of filing the Order to Show cause from out of state? It is a fair amount of money. Thanks jr

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

Re: Order to show cause

dear I AM ALWAYS LIABLE, thanks for the response. Is there a way of filing the Order to Show cause from out of state? It is a fair amount of money. Thanks jr

My response:

Sure there is - - you can do your filing by mail; but that's not the problem.

The problem is making those many trips for the appearances, and then finding, hiring, and paying someone to help you collect the judgment. You said there is a "fair amount" of money involved. So, let's take $20,000.00 as an example. After you figure transportation (both air and ground), housing, food, and extras, not including professional assistance, I would imagine half of $20,000.00 is better than 100% of nothing.

So, you've got to do some real soul searching to determine if you want to go forward, or just forget about it.

Good luck to you.

IAAL