Section 291 Of Part 6. Enforcement Of Judgments And Orders From California Family Law Code >> Division 2. >> Part 6.
291
. (a) A money judgment or judgment for possession or sale of
property that is made or entered under this code, including a
judgment for child, family, or spousal support, is enforceable until
paid in full or otherwise satisfied.
(b) A judgment described in this section is exempt from any
requirement that a judgment be renewed. Failure to renew a judgment
described in this section has no effect on the enforceability of the
judgment.
(c) A judgment described in this section may be renewed pursuant
to Article 2 (commencing with Section 683.110) of Chapter 3 of
Division 1 of Title 9 of Part 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure. An
application for renewal of a judgment described in this section,
whether or not payable in installments, may be filed:
(1) If the judgment has not previously been renewed as to past due
amounts, at any time.
(2) If the judgment has previously been renewed, the amount of the
judgment as previously renewed and any past due amount that became
due and payable after the previous renewal may be renewed at any time
after a period of at least five years has elapsed from the time the
judgment was previously renewed.
(d) In an action to enforce a judgment for child, family, or
spousal support, the defendant may raise, and the court may consider,
the defense of laches only with respect to any portion of the
judgment that is owed to the state.
(e) Nothing in this section supersedes the law governing
enforcement of a judgment after the death of the judgment creditor or
judgment debtor.
(f) On or before January 1, 2008, the Judicial Council shall
develop self-help materials that include: (1) a description of the
remedies available for enforcement of a judgment under this code, and
(2) practical advice on how to avoid disputes relating to the
enforcement of a support obligation. The self-help materials shall be
made available to the public through the Judicial Council self-help
Internet Web site.
(g) As used in this section, "judgment" includes an order.