Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Divorce 

As part of your Miami divorce, if there are marital assets or debts to divide, the court is required to make written findings in its order that clearly identify non-marital assets; identify and value marital property along with who is awarded the same; indicate and assign marital debts to the spouses; and include any other statements that help someone reading the order to understand why the court distributed the assets and debts in the manner it did.  Once you have this order, what’s its effect?

Sometimes, a judge may order a cash payment from one spouse to the other to effectuate the equitable distribution of the marital estate. This could be a lump sum or installment payments, and in any event is considered vested to the receiving spouse. This means the payment is guaranteed even if the paying spouse dies or remarries, unless the spouses agree otherwise. So in the case of death of the payor, the estate of the payor would still owe the ex-spouse the ordered distribution payment. 

If you were awarded real estate in your Miami final judgment of divorce, the final judgment has the same effect as a deed transfering ownership of the property to you. So even if your ex-spouse refuses to sign a deed transferring his/her interest in a home to you, the recorded divorce decree covers you.

In many cases, getting the final judgment in your Florida divorce is just the start. There may be lingering issues of enforcement and collection of what is owed to you. A Miami divorce attorney at Streets Law can assist you, starting with a consultation.