Spain: What happens when a parent has not paid any money under the terms of a Court Order
Unfortunately there are times that even though an agreement has been signed and stamped by a Judge, a non resident parent in the home (usually the father) does not make any payments to the other parent of a child or children.
So what can be done in this case..?
There are two options:-
The first is to execute a Resolution of an enforcement with the same Court/Judge.
The second is to consider a criminal action as it may be seen as an abanadonment of family (not paying maintenance and/or not complying with arranged visits).
It is possible to use the two proceedings however if the parent not paying has no money or is earning a low amount legally, then it is difficult to recover monies from the non resident parent, as the way to do it usually is by seizing earnings, deduction from tax reimbursements and deductions from social security benefits.
Further actions for persistent non payment are seizure or embargo of bank accounts and seizure/embargo or selling of assets such as vehicles. As said before it is possible that a sanction can be made by way of a criminal proceeding which many even include imprisonment.
We are able to help with family and child matters. Please contact Amanda enquiries@spanishsolutions.net for matters relating to divorce or child custody. We would recommend that as difficult it is, it is best with these matters to endeavour to keep lines of communication open between the parents.