Whether a judge awarded you
alimony or ordered you to pay monthly
child support, each party is obligated to follow the court orders associated with a divorce.
Unfortunately, there are many cases where an ex-spouse refuses to honor
a court order by missing alimony or child support payments or withholding
a child from court-ordered
visitation.
When one party fails to follow the court’s orders, there are several
ways to encourage compliance. One of them is holding an ex-spouse in contempt of court.
Contempt is defined as refusing to obey a judge’s order. If a person
is held in contempt, he/she may be subject to sanctions, fines, or even
jail time.
There are two types of contempt: civil or criminal. While the former occurs
when the court makes an order and a party can—but refuses—to
comply with the order, the latter happens when a party disobeys a court
order in front of a judge or in court or fails to comply with a court
order outside of court.
In most cases, wronged parties may pursue civil contempt of court charges
because it is designed to encourage the at-fault parties to comply with
the order. Additionally, civil contempt has a “purge” provision,
meaning an at-fault party can purge the contempt (e.g. paying back missed
alimony or child support payments, or scheduling make-up dates for visitation)
and avoid criminal penalties.
The wronged party must show the court that the at-fault party could comply
with the court order but decided not to do so. Common examples of evidence
include text messages, e-mails, and voice messages of all the attempts
to obtain compliance, calendars that demonstrate all the missed dates,
and even journal entries.
Whether you are interested in filing for civil contempt or on the receiving
end of one in Daytona Beach,
contact the Law Offices of Robert Stepniak today and request a free case review.