The court ordered my ex-husband to pay me an installment on our divorce settlement, due this past January 5th. I have not received the money and I do not know what to do next. I cannot afford anymore legal fees and I suspect he won't pay until forced to.
Any advice?

You have to go back to court and when he is found in contempt they can start garnishing his wages or worse.Call your lawyer to see what he says or call the clerk of the court who issued the order to see if they can file a motion for you!:cool:

Talaniman,
Thank you for your suggestion. I will start with the court since they will not charge me. Initially I wanted to contact my ex and ask but thought it would only make things more difficult.
Emmy

Remember it is not about you and your ex it is about your children,if he won't fight for them ,you must!:cool: :)

Of course you could call him and ask him, but odds are if he intended to pay he would have. As you are already starting to go to court that is about the only option you have.

Good luck

Talaniman,
Sorry if I confused you, there are no dependent children in this situation. But I do agree. When I had 3 small children to raise on my own there was not one penny. God provided and we made it, but it was not easy.
If the court cannot help me a friend suggested getting a membership to pre-paid legal. For $35.00 they will have a local attorney send an initial letter requesting payment. I don't know anything about Pre-paid legal but this does sound like a financially reasonable route.
Emmy

Dear Fr. Chuck,
Thanks for your response. All during the divorce proceedings my former was exceedingly angry. (even though he initiated the divorce and got everything) He married again before the ink was dry on the papers so I can't imagine contact being a great idea. I agree, he would have sent the check if he planned to pay.
It is good to have a place to ask questions and get serious, concerened answers. Thanks.
Emmy

Your best bet is to go back to court and ask the judge to order a garnishment of his wages. That is usually the best way to "force" someone to pay a debt they owe. If you can certify that he has not paid according to court order, then it should be fairly standard procedure and you should be able to do this without an attorney.