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Sun 6 Nov, 2005 06:45 pm
Im going thru a divorce my husband and I bought the house in april 2004 , he was removed from the home in nov2004 for hitting me he has been gone since as there is a protection ordder against him , now he is in contempt of court he hasnt paid any thing to me per april court agreement yet seems not much is being done about this , the house is for sale I am not on title (a mistake made at time of closeing) since he is in contempt already and went to court on the contempt charges and still hasnt complied I am concerned I if house sells wont have a place to go I have a very young child also....what I would like to do is put a lien on the home for money he now owes Can I do This and if so How ?
Thank you
This is a complicated area of the law and you need to retain the services of an attorney to assist you.
thanks but that just leaves me with nothing due to what is going on I just do not have the money to get a lawyer for this wanted to do it my self... so its true those with the deep pockets always win even when they are wrong.....
Check into legal aid, you might qualify or they might help you find a lawyer who will work for a reduced fee or pro bono. Debra is correct, this is a complicated a situation and the laws will vary from state to state.
Beingtakentothecleaners:
There is no way anyone here can answer your questions or give you step by step instructions on how to collect the money owed to you on your divorce judgment.
The laws are going to vary depending on the state you live in. We don't know what your judgment provides. It appears that your ex-husband was awarded the house. We don't know if there is any equity in the house. If there is equity in the house, why didn't the court award you a percentage of the equity so you wouldn't be in this mess to begin with? We don't know if the money your ex-husband is supposed to pay you is for your share of the property division, for spousal support, or for child support.
If this is a child support matter, you should immediately contact your local child support enforcement unit for assistance.
The laws of your state might allow you to go back into court and obtain an equitable lien on the house or to slap a lien on the proceeds from the sale of the house. But, that raises another issue: Whether your ex-husband is entitled to claim statutory exemptions if you attempt to execute on a lien. In some states he can't claim exemptions if the sale proceeds should equitably be applied to support his former family. We don't know what legal rules apply in your state.
In addition to contacting legal aid, contact your state bar association. They might have a volunteer lawyer program and might be able to refer you to a lawyer who will help you pro bono. This situation is far too complicated to expect to obtain any meaningful assistance on a discussion forum.
Best wishes.
Thank you again, however Im not yet divorced my husband was to pay the bills in the house until it was sold in lew of child support he hasn't done that he is in contempt of that court order , that is why I wanted to get a lien on the house so if house sells I will have money to relocate.
yet I do understand what you have said .