§68.03 General Parameters of Enforcement

• Jurisdiction: Washington

§ 68.03 GENERAL PARAMETERS OF ENFORCEMENT

Procedurally, actions to enforce a decree or property settlement agreement are by motion to the court for a judgment, or specific performance depending on the type of property if judgment cannot be executed. Obligations contained in a decree of dissolution can either be a bare judgment, a judgment secured by an interest formally attached to a particular property through a deed of trust or mortgage, or an equitable lien. The type of security obtained can be of critical importance to the creditor. A deed of trust or other specific security interest granted by the obligated spouse is preferable to a bare judgment or equitable lien. Not only are the foreclosure procedures explicit and, in the instance of a deed of trust, nonjudicial, but a "voluntary" security interest will defeat a homestead by the debtor or a subsequent purchaser.

The court does not have the ability to modify the decree or insert terms not expressly stated therein. Therefore, absent agreement of the parties, a trial court does not have "unfettered discretion to compel the sale of property in a dissolution of marriage." Byrne v. Ackerlund, 108 Wn.2d 445, 455-56, 739 P.2d 1138 (1987). In Byrne, the property settlement agreement awarded the property to one spouse and a judgment in favor of the other spouse secured against the real property. The Washington Supreme Court...