Short answer. Yes. If investigation shows the judgment obligor's earnings from personal services exceed what's necessary to support their family, the court may order payment of the judgment in fixed monthly installments, and may punish the obligor for indirect contempt if they fail to pay any installment without good excuse.
What the law says
The court may order any property of the judgment obligor, or money due him, not exempt from execution, in the hands of either himself or another person, or of a corporation or other juridical entity, to be applied to the satisfaction of the judgment, subject to any prior rights over such property. If, upon investigation of his current income and expenses, it appears that the earnings of the judgment obligor for his personal services are more than necessary for the support of his family, the court may order that he pay the judgment in fixed monthly installments, and upon his failure to pay any such installment when due without good excuse, may punish him for indirect contempt.
Rule 39, Section 40 — Order for application of property and income to satisfaction of judgment. Read the full provision →
Applying non-exempt property or money generally
The court may order any property of the judgment obligor, or any money due to him, that is not exempt from execution, whether it is in his own hands or in someone else's, including a corporation's, to be applied toward satisfying the judgment, though always subject to any prior rights that others may have over that particular property. This general power to reach non-exempt property exists independently of the installment mechanism described below. A judgment creditor is not limited to seizing tangible assets; intangible rights like money owed to the obligor by a third party can also be reached and applied to the debt.
The installment option for earnings
Where the property available is really the obligor's ongoing earnings rather than a fixed asset, the court may go a different route: upon investigating his current income and expenses, if it appears that his earnings from personal services are more than what is necessary to support his family, the court may order him to pay the judgment in fixed monthly installments instead of all at once. This approach recognizes that forcing an obligor to hand over a lump sum from ongoing wages all at once could be impractical or could leave the obligor without any income at all in a given period, so spreading the obligation across fixed monthly payments is a more workable path to eventual full satisfaction of the judgment.
Consequence of missing an installment, and why this exists
If the obligor then fails to pay any such installment when it falls due, without a good excuse for the failure, the court may punish him for indirect contempt. This mechanism lets a judgment be enforced even against someone whose main asset is a paycheck, without stripping away the income that his family genuinely needs to live on. What counts as a good excuse is left to the court's judgment on the facts of each case. Because indirect contempt can lead to fine or imprisonment, this installment mechanism gives real teeth to a judgment against a debtor whose only meaningful resource is a wage, turning what might otherwise be an unenforceable judgment into one the debtor has strong incentive to actually pay.
Related provisions
- Rule 39, Section 40 — Order for application of property and income to satisfaction of judgment
- Rule 39, Section 39 — Obligor may pay execution against obligee
- Rule 39, Section 41 — Appointment of receiver