If you were injured and subsequently received a settlement for your damages, you may be wondering if that money will be counted toward your alimony obligation. The short answer is that it depends. Based on the information provided to you by your personal injury lawyer and family law attorney, you should gain a clear response to your question. Below is some general information that may be helpful in advance of contacting your attorneys.
What is included in a personal injury award?
When someone is injured and subsequently receives a settlement for their damages, the settlement is intended to reflect the nature and value of each damage. For example, the medical costs to treat the injury, the wages they cannot earn while they recover, their pain and suffering, and any other damages that resulted. The settlement might be in the form of periodic payments or it may be a lump sum.
What part of a personal injury award is subject to payment of alimony?
Very often the personal injury settlement includes payment for lost wages. Any compensation for their lost wages that is included in the settlement is considered income. If a person who is subject to paying alimony was unable to pay during the time they were out of work while recovering, then the portion of their wages that normally goes to alimony will likely be owed to the ex-spouse unless other terms were approved.
A Permanent Personal Injury
Not all personal injuries result in receiving compensation for one’s damages. In addition, when an injury is permanent, a settlement may not be sufficient to replace the person’s earnings that will be lost if they lose their job because they are unable to perform their duties. In either of these scenarios, the person’s annual income may be drastically reduced from what it was at the time the alimony agreement was negotiated. As a result, it may be impossible to fully meet their alimony obligation. In this scenario, the individual should consider contacting their family law attorney to submit a petition to the court for a reduction or elimination of the alimony payments.
An Alimony Agreement is Legally Binding
Regardless of your reason for being unable to make your alimony payments in full and on time, you are legally obligated to make them unless you are approved by the court to make a different arrangement. Though it may seem like it should be obvious to the world that you are legitimately injured and therefore unable to work and pay alimony, you need formal approval from the family court judge to pay less or to suspend payments altogether. Working with a divorce lawyer in Cypress, TX, like from Winfrey Law Firm, as well as your personal injury lawyer can help ensure that you do not get into legal trouble for temporarily being unable to make your alimony payments.