Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland
Ex Not Paying Settlement
I was divorced in 8/02. Me and my ex had a prenuptial agreement which would divide the equity of a home that was in the process of being sold. After our divorce was final, and the home was settled on 2 months later, my ex informs me that he doesnt think that I deserve the money from the house and now refuses to pay his obligation persuant to the terms of the prenuptial agreement (which was part of our divorce settlement) What do I have to do to enforce him to pay up?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Ex Not Paying Settlement
If your agreement is part of the judgment of divorce, then the terms of the agreement become a court order. So if your ex is volating the agreement, he is violating a court order. That means that if you go to court for his violation of the agreement, he could be found in contempt of the court order and fined, and also be made to abide by the terms of the agreement.
If he has a lawyer, you should definitely hire a lawyer as well. If you're not ready to do that, you should send him a letter, certified mail, requesting that he abide by the terms of the agreement. Give him a date by which to act. If he doesn't, then you are going to have to go to court to have the agreement enforced.
Re: Ex Not Paying Settlement
If your efforts to enforce the agreement, which appears from
your question to also be incorporated into your judgment of divorce, have
been unsuccessful, then you should seek the assistance of an attorney.
An attorney can begin by asserting a demand for payment and, if unsuccessful, an action
in court will need to be filed. Alternatively, an action in court can be filed without a demand.
Based on the facts you indicated, you have two avenues
of recovery. One is through contract law, the other is through his non-compliance with an order
of the court.
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