Obligor vs. Obligee — which one are you? – There are plenty of legal terms that get thrown around in the courtroom and on various websites, all of which can make it easy for a normal person off the street to get confused. Two terms we’d like to discuss today are obligor and obligee. Which one are you?
While obligor and obligee look similar, they are drastically different.
Obligor — the obligated party
This term refers to a person bound by a legal obligation. For example, the spouse in a child-support determination proceeding responsible for making the child-support payments is called the obligor. The obligor can get in significant trouble if he or she does not satisfy this obligation.
Let’s use it in a sentence: Since I am the obligor in this case, I’d better pay off what I owe so I don’t go to jail or risk incurring more fees.
Obligee — the benefitting party
In contrast, an obligee is the person an obligated party is bound to. So to use the same case example above, the obligee is the person who has been awarded the child-support payments. This person is protected by the child-support ruling and can seek legal recourse against the obligor if the debt is not paid.
Let’s use it in a sentence: As the obligee in this case, I am entitled to receive payment no later than the 15th of each month.
We have spent the last few years compiling lists of some of the more widely-used family law terms. The individual links to our previous 11 terms lists are: Vol. 1, Vol. 2, Vol. 3, Vol. 4, Vol. 5, Vol. 6, Vol. 7, Vol. 8, Vol. 9, Vol. 10, Vol. 11.
Nelson Law Group, PC has represented people in all forms of family law cases for over 20 years. Our friendly staff is here to help you in any way we can while taking the guesswork out of many complex situations. For more information about Brett A Nelson click here.
