Conducting the payment hearing

(1) Generally The court shall conduct a payment hearing before issuing any payment order, including circumstances where the parties present an Agreement for Proposed Payment Order. At the payment hearing, the plaintiff shall have the burden of proof, and the court shall make specific written findings of its determination as to the defendant’s ability to pay. Additionally, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant has the ability to pay the judgment without relying on exempt assets or sources of income. Such review shall further include a consideration of the defendant’s ongoing expenses when determining an ability to pay. The court shall require the defendant to complete a Statement of Finances and Income form, promulgated by the court and signed under the penalties of perjury. The statement shall be kept separate from other papers in the case and shall not be available for public inspection, but shall be available to the court, to attorneys whose appearances are entered in the case and to the parties to the case. Upon a finding that the defendant has an ability to pay without relying on exempt assets or sources of income, the court shall, except where justice will not be served, order payment to the plaintiff of the amount of judgment and costs, as the case may be, on or by a date stated or in specified installments. The court’s decision shall be recorded on a Payment Order form and the court shall inform the parties of its decision. Where parties bring to the court’s attention that they intend to agree to a payment arrangement without involvement of the court, the court shall inform the parties that any such agreement is not a court order and will not be enforced by the court. (2) Hearing on agreement for proposed payment order In addition to determining defendant’s ability to pay, where parties have agreed to a proposed payment order the court must determine that defendant has entered into the terms of the agreement voluntarily, and that the parties understand the terms of the proposed order. If, after hearing, the court determines that the defendant is unable to pay as agreed but finds the defendant able to pay some amount less than the proposed agreed payment amount, the court may order the defendant to pay that lesser amount, so long as such payments do not include payments from exempt income or assets. The court’s decision shall be recorded on a Payment Order form and the court shall inform the parties of its decision. (3) Defendant has no ability to pay If, after payment hearing, the court finds that the defendant has no ability to make payments on the judgment, or cannot do so without relying on exempt sources, the court shall not enter a payment order, and the parties shall be notified.