Legal Question in Family Law in Oregon

Re: Divorce

The money in the 401(k) was no different than "money in the bank" that happened to be under his control. Even though the account was under his sole name, it was for divorce purposes a joint marital asset. By court judgment, you were award one-half. And he was (and is) legally liable to see to it that you actually get the one-half that was awarded to you by the court. When in pulled the money from the account (half of it being yours pursuant to the divorce judgment) he should have paid you the half that legally belonged the you before spending the whole thing. He had no legal right to spend your money. He is STILL legally obligated to pay to you the amount the was awarded to you by the court.

So what you now have to do to take him back to court and get a "money judgment" for the amount that is owed. The money judgment will then be a lien on any real property that he owns and will allow you to garnish his wages, bank accounts, etc. The judgment will run with 9% per year interest on the unpaid balance and will be enforcable for a maximum of 20 years.

In you are in the Portland area, give me a call and we can further discuss the legal remedies available in this situaation.

LAWRENCE D. GORIN

http://www.divorcesource.com/OR/pages/ldgorin.html

Law Offices of L.D. Gorin

521 S.W. Clay St., Suite 205

Portland, Oregon 97201

Telephone: 503.224.8884

Fax: 503.226.1321

E-mail: [email protected]