Can A Marital Property Agreement Be Enforced?

Property Settlement Agreements in Pennsylvania: Can A Marital Property Agreement Be Enforced?

By Attorney William W. Matz, JR.

It is often most difficult to reduce to writing the elements of a marital property settlement agreement which both parties in a divorce will accept, than it is to orally articulate the parameters of a settlement of marital affairs.

The Pennsylvania Divorce Code provides that parties can, by agreement, exclude certain property from designation as marital property. [23 Pa. C.S §3501(a)(2)]

In order to enforce a property agreement entered into between the married parties, you can:

1. enter judgment
2. authorize the taking and seizure of the goods and chattels and collection of the rents and profits
3. award interest on unpaid installments
4. order and direct the transfer or sale of any property required in order to comply with the court’s order
5. require security to ensure future payments in compliance with the court’s order
6. issue attachment proceedings directed to the sheriff or other proper officer of the county, directing that the person named as having failed to comply with the court order be brought before the court, at such time as the court may direct.  If the court finds, after hearing, that the person willfully failed to comply with a court order, it may deem the person in civil contempt, and in its discretion, make an appropriate order, including, but not limited to, commitment of the person to the county jail, for a period not to exceed six months
7. award counsel fees and costs
8. attach wages
9. find the party in contempt

23 Pa. C.S. §3502(e)

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