Is it possible to pay a court judgment in instalments?
Yes, if the party who won the case agrees. In civil proceedings the law does not provide for the judge to make them accept payment in instalments, so it has to be negotiated with them or their lawyer. The prudent course is to put the agreement in writing, with the dates, the amounts and what happens if it is breached. It is then filed with the court so that the court suspends the enforcement or approves the agreement. If there is no agreement, attachment of part of your salary works in practice as compulsory payment in instalments.
Alburquerque Abogados
How to agree on it
The winning party is not obliged to accept, but it is often in their interest, because enforcement takes time and money and its outcome depends on the debtor's assets. For the agreement to be useful, it should set out the following:
- The total amount to be paid, with whatever interest and costs are included, or the reduction granted in return for payment.
- The schedule, with the date and amount of each instalment and the account into which they are paid.
- What happens if an instalment is late, normally that everything outstanding can be claimed at once and the enforcement can continue.
- What happens to any attachments already made, whether they are kept as security or lifted.
The usual arrangement is an initial payment and instalments that the debtor can genuinely meet. Whoever pays should keep the receipt for each payment.
How to take it to the court
If enforcement is already under way, both parties can ask for it to be suspended while the agreement is complied with or for the judge to approve the agreement. That way there is a record of it in the case file. If the agreement is later breached, the winning party can ask for enforcement to continue for whatever remains outstanding.
If enforcement has not yet been applied for, it is advisable to sign the agreement before a notary. If the winning party later applies for enforcement in disregard of it, the debtor who is complying with it can object by relying on that agreement, because the law allows this when it is recorded in a public document.
If there is no agreement
If the winning party does not accept, enforcement continues. With an attachment of earnings or of a pension, whoever pays the salary or pension withholds the attachable part each month and the debt is paid off little by little, though with interest at the statutory interest rate plus two percentage points, which in 2026 is 5,25 % a year.
If what you owe is more than you can pay, the second chance law (“ley de la segunda oportunidad”) allows an individual, in insolvency proceedings (“concurso de acreedores”) and subject to certain requirements, to ask for what they cannot pay to be written off, sometimes with a payment plan lasting several years that the judge approves.
Criminal proceedings are different. If the judgment orders compensation to be paid and the convicted person cannot pay it all at once, the criminal judge can split the payment into instalments, after hearing the injured party.
This answer is provided for educational purposes and offers initial guidance on the question raised. Every matter has its own circumstances and nuances that require individual assessment. For that reason, before taking decisions with significant consequences, it is advisable to consult a professional and not to rely solely on this information. Personalised advice makes it possible to apply these explanations to the specific case and to assess the options available with greater certainty.