§ 1762 Payment of judgment.

If a court orders you to pay money as part of a judgment, you are expected to pay it right away. This means the full amount is due as soon as the judgment is entered, not at some later date you choose.

If you cannot pay the full amount right away, the court can set up a payment plan for you. This lets you pay off the judgment over time instead of all at once. The plan is arranged through the court, so you cannot just decide on your own to pay in installments without the court's approval.

The main point of this rule is that judgments are meant to be paid promptly. Courts allow payment plans to give people a fair way to meet their obligation when paying everything at once is not possible.