Q: is a settlement as part of a divorce viable longer than 10 years? My husband is hiding behind a PO box.
My divorce was in Washington State. I was awarded a percentage of my husband's Navy retirement (23%) and a cash settlement in my divorce. He is behind by over $10,000 on the retirement funds (he only pays for a part of it). He has not paid anything on the settlement which has accrued to about $16,000 (at 12% per annum). Kitsap county shows this as an active lien and I recently had the county recorder add it to the records again. But the settlement and divorce were in 2005 and he has not had a valid address since. He works out of state and uses a WA PO Box. His family will not help me. He has a warrant for stalking me in PA but the police could not find him - even with his cell number and the state he was residing in at that time. I have tried to collect or garnish his wages but there is no way to contact him. Are the terms of my divorce still valid after 10 years? I have a lien on his WA state property, but the bank refinanced and ignored the lien. How can I collect this money in PA?
A:
You probably *won't* be able to collect money in PA -- unless he has assets here. If he is in contempt of a court order, the viability and validity of that court order should always be good -- unless Washington law says otherwise (and as a Pennsylvania attorney, I have no idea what the Washington law is). There's also something called a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) which is filed with the pension fund so that you are paid directly by the fund once payments begin -- presumably this was done during the divorce? If it wasn't, it should've been.
Unfortunately, you're going to have to track him down. You may have some recourse against the bank if they ignored your validly recorded lien too, and you may be able to bring an action against the bank in Washington. You could hire a private investigator, and local counsel can be pretty crafty too.
If you'd like to discuss your situation further, feel free to contact me offsite. Best of luck to you.
A: You're going to have to enforce this agreement/order in WA. I suggest that you consult a WA state attorney and give him/her all the information you have. Let the WA state attorney advise as to what the best enforcement approach would be out there. Their court rules are different form those in PA (I know because I recently worked on a case where I had to engage WA state counsel for assistance). The rules difference may help you with both the enforcement and service aspects of this matter. I don't know why a Military Retirement Pay Division Order (MRPDO) was not entered in your case. If you were married to him for 10 years or more during which time he performed at least 10 years of service creditable in determining his eligibility for retired pay, then one should have been entered. I'm sure the WA state attorney can work with you on this. So, yes, the Agreement/divorce order should still be enforceable and, good news, you may be able to obtain counsel fees for having to enforce it.
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