A common questions is how long does a person (aka judgment creditor) have to enforce a money judgment in Maryland. A person has 12-years to enforce a money judgment against the judgment debtor. Maryland Courts & Judicial Proceeding section 5-102(a)(3).
If the judgment creditor is unable to collect the entire money judgment within 12-years, the judgment creditor can renew his or her money judgment for an additional 12-years. Maryland Rule 2-625 provides that a party can renew a money judgment at any time prior to “12 years from the date of entry or most recent renewal”. This means that a judgment can be renewed multiple times in 12 year intervals.
Another common question is how many years does a person have to enforce a judgment for alimony payments in Maryland. Let’s say that indefinite alimony of $1,000 per month is awarded on January 1, 2010, but no alimony is paid over the next 14 years. If the party who was awarded alimony waits until January 1, 2024 to file a motion to reduce the alimony arears to a judgment, the court can still enter a judgment for alimony arrears in the amount of $144,000 for the 12-year period of January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2023. See O’Hearn v. O’Hearn, 37 Md. 292, 299 (1995).
Practice pointer: If you have a money judgment or are owed alimony, you need to renew your money judgment within 12-years of its entry or file a motion to enforce your alimony award within 12-years that your former spouse stopped making payments.
37 Md. 292Court of Appeals of Maryland.John P. O’HEARNv.Jennifer A. O’HEARN.
