COURT MUSCLE : POWERS OF ENFORCEMENT
Chafes Press Release PR133 : 20 October 2008
After all the hard work of getting a court order providing for your future financial security it is essential that such court orders for maintenance, payment of lump sums, property adjustment orders and pension sharing orders are complied with. If the paying party defaults then there are wide and effective powers available to recipients of such orders, to enable them to ensure that the orders are complied with.
Maintenance orders can be registered in the Magistrates Courts, and the Magistrates Court take the enforcement action against any non paying party by summoning them to court and conducting means enquiries. If the payer continues to default, imprisonment can be imposed.
Maintenance orders can also be enforced in the County Court and High Court by way of attachment of earning orders. These orders are only appropriate if the payer is in regular employed work as opposed to self employed and when granted, give good security for the payment of maintenance directly out of the paying party’s wages, as they are deducted from the employer at source.
Payments of lump sums and arrears of maintenance can be secured by way of a charging order so that the debt is secured against property held in the defaulting party’s name.
Special permission is required from the Court if arrears of maintenance of more than 12 months have accrued and therefore it is always advisable to act quickly once arrears of maintenance start to accrue. This applies to both maintenance for children as ordered by the Court and maintenance for spouses.
Similarly, if arrears of maintenance have accrued, bailiffs from the County Court or Sheriffs in the High Court can be instructed to seize goods from the defaulting party and auction them off in order to realise the amount of the arrears.
An unusual method of enforcement is a garnishee order whereby a person (the garnishee) who owes money to the defaulting party, can be ordered to pay it to the recipient of any maintenance or lump sum order so as to reduce the amount owed. The debt attached is usually, but not limited to, any credit balances in the defaulting party’s bank or building society accounts.
One of the more robust methods of enforcement is to seek an order for the defaulting party’s committal to prison, on an application for a judgment summons. Such applications will only be successful if it can be proved that the paying party has refused or neglected to pay the lump sum order notwithstanding them having the means to pay. A Judge may commit any defaulting party to prison for up to 6 weeks. Such an order is usually suspended, however, on condition that the debtor makes payment by instalment or otherwise.
It is always better to try and agree terms of payment in advance of any final order and steps should always be taken to settle payments with the defaulting party prior to taking any court action.
Chafes have a team of dedicated and specialised lawyers who are able to provide efficient and effective advice and work to ensure that orders are complied with and the hard work in obtaining court orders is not time wasted.
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