Intereses sobre sentencias y su distribución en el estado de Washington

Explicación Simple

Cuando un juez te dice que debes dinero, ese monto puede aumentar con el tiempo por intereses. Si pagas a tiempo, a veces puedes pedir que te bajen o quiten esos intereses para facilitar el pago.

Es como cuando tienes una deuda con un amigo y cada semana que tardas en pagarle, él te dice que le debes un extra. Si le demuestras que realmente quieres saldar la deuda, puede decidir no cobrarte ese extra.

Ejemplo Práctico

Imagina que Juan fue condenado a pagar $1,000 por una multa. Desde la fecha de la sentencia, esos $1,000 empiezan a acumular intereses. Después de un tiempo, Juan muestra que ha estado pagando mensualmente y pide al juez que le reduzcan los intereses, ya que está esforzándose por cumplir con su deuda.

Texto Original del Estatuto (Inglés)

RCW 10.82.090 - Interest on judgments -- Disposition of nonrestitution interest (1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, financial obligations imposed in a judgment shall bear interest from the date of the judgment until payment, at the rate applicable to civil judgments. All nonrestitution interest retained by the court shall be split twenty-five percent to the state treasurer for deposit in the public safety and education account as provided in RCW 43.08.250, twenty-five percent to the state treasurer for deposit in the judicial information system account as provided in RCW 2.68.020, twenty-five percent to the county current expense fund, and twenty-five percent to the county current expense fund to fund local courts.(2) The court may, on motion by the offender, following the offender's release from total confinement, reduce or waive the interest on legal financial obligations levied as a result of a criminal conviction. The court may reduce or waive the interest only as an incentive for the offender to meet his or her legal financial obligations. The court may not waive the interest on the restitution portion of the legal financial obligation and may only reduce the interest on the restitution portion of the legal financial obligation if the principal of the restitution has been paid in full. The offender must show that he or she has personally made a good faith effort to pay, that the interest accrual is causing a significant hardship, and that he or she will be unable to pay the principal and interest in full and that reduction or waiver of the interest will likely enable the offender to pay the full principal and any remaining interest thereon. For purposes of this section, "good faith effort" means that the offender has either (a) paid th