Ex-husband not paying a loan

In our Final Dissolution of Marriage, my ex-husband was ordered to pay $100.00 a month to a finance company for a joint loan we had together. At the time, the court knew it was a joint loan, and they still ordered him to make the payment and he agreed to this. It was for his car, for which I was a co-signer on, and this car ended up being repossed so there is no longer any physical property. In the state of Florida, I understand legally that the company will not take my name off the loan because we entered into the loan jointly. Recently when I was trying to purchase a new vehicle, I found out that he has not made payments on this loan. As a result, he has wreaked havoc on my credit report and this has caused me to pay a higher percentage rate for the new vehicle. My question is: Can he be held in contempt of court for not making the payments each month since he was ordered to do so in the final decree and can the court order him to pay these payments now?

You may be able to go after him for non-payment of alimony because he didn't pay the finance company as he was supposed to. That may be a "contempt of court" thing in family court.

You may also have a cause of action against him for ruining your credit and just sue him in civil court for that.

I know that I am able to file a contempt of court motion for this on my own without an attorney because my ex. did not make the car loan payments as ordered in our final decree. Money is very tight now, and with that in mind, do you need an attorney to file a civil suit or is that something I can do without a lawyer? Can you file a contempt or court motion and civil suit or just one? If you can only do one, is there one that would stand a better chance of success in the courts? Thanks for your help.

It really depends on your specific court. I know that some courts require an attorney to file certain documents. You will want to talk to the court clerk's office to find out what forms need to be filed and if you can file them without an attorney. Most of the time you are allowed to file without an attorney. Remember that the court system is confusing and complicated and your success increases when you are represented by an attorney. As for how many forms you can file. Again this is a specific question for your courthouse but I don't know why you could not. The proper remedy may have to be filed in the family court and not through a civil suit so you may be wasting your filing fee by filing in the wrong court.