Unlike child support, spousal support is often very difficult (if not impossible) to modify after the divorce is final, so getting it right the first time is a must!
We are in month three of our divorce, I filed. Support was court ordered to start at the begining of April ~ no official payments yet.
We still live together and he makes weekly bank deposits into a joint checking account that are somewhat equal to the court ordered payments.
My question is can he continue to use this money for himself? I pay all the household bills including his insurance, credit card bill, phone bill, and purchase all of the househiold food.
Once the courts process his non payment can he be made to pay me the amount he used for himself? What will happen?
One of the first things that I would do, since he isn't paying what he is supposed to, is stop paying any of the bills that his name only on them (unless it is a utility bill). And let him know what you are doing.
The second thing I would do is ask that it automatically gets garnished from his wages, and put it into an account that he doesn't have access to. This way he doesn't get to decide how much he pays (well, he doesn't, but until it's garnished, he's going to continue thinking that he does).