Legal Question in Family Law in South Carolina

Collecting on a promissory note

My ex-husband and I got divorced in July of 1997. He signed a promissory note that when our marital home got sold, he would have to give me $10,000. He has been telling me all this time that he still lives in the home with his second wife, but I found out the house was sold last July 27th, and he moved from SC to NC. How do I collect the debt, and what is the time limit? I live in NJ.


Asked on 8/23/07, 10:50 pm

4 Answers from Attorneys

Ben Stevens The Stevens Firm, P.A. Family Law Center

Re: Collecting on a promissory note

If he violated the terms of an Order, you can file a contempt action against him, which could result in his being fined or possibly put in jail.

These are complex issues, and it is important that they be handled correctly. Therefore, it is important that you consult an experienced family law attorney to find out what options are available to you based on the facts of your particular case.

If you need more information, you can visit my family law blog (www.SCFamilyLaw.com) or our website (www.StevensFirm.com). I wish you the best of luck.

Ben Stevens

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Answered on 8/23/07, 10:53 pm
Gary Moore Gary Moore Attorney At Law

Re: Collecting on a promissory note

You can file a motion to enforce the divorce judgment in the state where the divorce was granted. You can obtain a judgment for the amount owed

and your attorney's fee for obtaining the judgment. Then you can send it to an attorney where he lives to enforce the judgment. If he works for a company which does business in New Jersey you can served the company with the judgment with an order to executed on his earnings.

Call me if you like.

Gary Moore, Esquire

Hackensack, New Jersey

www.garymooreattorneyatlaw.com

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Answered on 8/23/07, 11:13 pm
Barry Kozyra Kozyra & Hartz, LLC

Re: Collecting on a promissory note

It sounds as if the divorce was granted in New Jersey. In order to collect on your promissory note you would have to bring an action against your ex-husband to enforce the terms of the settlement agreement probably in the original Family Court case. According to New Jersey statute, your time limit for bringing an action on the note itself would be six years. An attorney reviewing all of the facts would have to determine exactly how and where to proceed but NJ would be a probable place to enforce the agreement and, if a judgment were obtained it could then be docketed and enforced where he lives.

You should immediately consult an attorney with regard to these issues for more specific information. Our office is located in Roseland, NJ if you want to meet with an attorney from the firm.

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Answered on 8/24/07, 10:19 am
Robert Davies The Davies Law Firm, P.A.

Re: Collecting on a promissory note

well, now you have heard from one lawyer in South Carolina and two from New Jersey.

Easier for you to do what the NJ lawyers suggest. File a motion to enforce here in NJ (make HIM come to NJ to fight it, and costs you less), get a judgment from the NJ divorce judge saying that your ex owes you $xxx dollars. then go where he is and hire a lawyer there just to force payment from your ex.

if you are in northern NJ, call me. I am in Hackensack.

your ex is...well, he is clearly a bad guy. get a lawyer and go after him pronto.

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Answered on 8/24/07, 10:26 am


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