Delaware Contempt & Enforcement Attorneys
Contempt & Enforcement specialists with OVER 63 YEARS of experience.
When working through your divorce with an Ohio family law attorney, chances are your divorce agreement made allowances for child support, spousal support or both. In the event your ex-spouse fails to make these payments as ordered by the court, it is possible to file to have them held in contempt of court in order to enforce the standing order.
What are contempt charges?
Contempt is considered anything that ignores an order that is issued from court. In the case of family law, it is typically a violation of a support order. In these cases, the spouse who should be receiving support payments would contact their Delaware OH family law attorney and request them to petition the court to find the spouse who would be paying support in contempt.
What happens with contempt charges?
If you are successful in requesting the court to find a non-paying ex-spouse in contempt of court, the most common outcome is that support payments will resume. The court may impose additional fines and should the spouse continue to violate the order by not paying, they could face time in prison for that violation.
What happens if my ex-spouse still cannot pay?
Depending on the specific circumstances regarding non-payment the court may order a temporary reduction in payments. If the claim of inability is unsustainable it may be possible to request the court order payment directly through a payroll deduction.
What options do I have besides contempt charges?
At the Lawrence Law Office, we sometimes find it is beneficial to work on a mutually agreeable resolution to disputes that arise regarding support payments. While this is not always possible, in most cases it can prevent additional bad feelings between the partners and is oftentimes less time consuming and less costly than contempt of court.
If you are a custodial spouse, child support may be the only way you can financially maintain your household. As an Ohio family law firm, we understand there are often circumstances that legitimately occur that prevent a non-custodial spouse from making court-ordered payments. However, in the event these payments are simply not being made as agreed, we are here to help you. At the Lawrence Law Office we primarily focus on family law and while we encourage you to work with your ex-spouse to reach a mutual resolution, if it is not possible, we will not hesitate to go to court. If you are facing challenges due to non-support we can help you take the steps to either collect payments as quickly as possible or undertake the filing of contempt charges to force compliance.
