When someone doesn’t comply with an official court order, that person may be held in contempt of court. This complaint is a formal charge against the offending party for willingly and knowingly disobeying a court order. If charged with contempt of court, the person may face civil or criminal penalties, from fines to jail time. In divorce cases, contempt of court is a civil charge with the primary goal of gaining compliance from the other party. It’s a formal way of getting your ex to comply with a court order when other enforcement methods haven’t worked. Below, we discuss how contempt of court works and answer some common questions about holding your ex in contempt of court in a Florida divorce case.
What to Do If Your Spouse Doesn’t Comply with a Divorce Decree?
Once finalized and approved by a judge, a divorce decree is an official court order that must be followed indefinitely. If your spouse fails to follow any part of it, you have the legal right to get your spouse to comply with the order. How you attempt to gain compliance will depend on the specific part of the order your ex refuses to follow. Most methods end with filing for contempt of court as a last resort to force your ex to comply.
Common Types of Divorce Decree Violations
Here are the three most common aspects of a divorce decree that people fail to comply with and the actions you should take when they do:
Spousal Support
If your ex fails to make the correct spousal support payments for the duration specified in the divorce decree, you should communicate this with them and offer options to help them become current on payments. Save emails, texts, voicemails, or other communication that shows you were aware of the missing payments and attempted to rectify the problem with your ex directly before involving the courts. You may also suggest modifying the spousal support payments to gain compliance. If this doesn’t happen, you can escalate the situation by filing for contempt of court.
Child Support
Failing to pay child support is a serious infraction. If your ex is over two weeks behind on making a scheduled payment, you can request a Notice of Delinquency be sent to your ex. The Notice of Delinquency notifies your ex that their payment is past due, explains how they can become current, and specifies future actions if the payment isn’t made. After your ex receives the Notice of Delinquency, they have five days to make the necessary payments. If your ex still doesn’t pay and is more than 20 days late on payments (calculated by the initial due date) even after receiving a Notice of Delinquency, you can file for contempt of court.
Custody
Your ex may fail to comply with the custody agreement by not showing up to scheduled visitation times or preventing the children from seeing you during your designated visitation time. When this happens, you can file a Motion to Enforce to make your ex aware of the parenting plan violations they’ve made and attempt to get them to follow the approved order. You must provide evidence that your ex willingly refused to follow the approved time-sharing plan. If your ex still fails to follow the parenting plan after the Motion to Enforce has been sent.
Examples of Contempt of Court in Divorce Cases
Here are some common examples of violations where you may be able to hold your ex in contempt of court in a divorce case:
Failure to Distribute Property
During divorce proceedings, you and your ex will negotiate how to split marital assets you acquired during the marriage. Once the divorce is finalized, your ex must ensure you receive your entitled share. However, a resentful ex may refuse to transfer, release, or sell the property once the divorce is finalized. Actions that would be considered failing to distribute property include failing to:
- Move out of the family home.
- Sell property.
- Transfer ownership of assets
- Refinance a mortgage.
- Pay down marital debt.
- Transfer or sell business assets.
If you cannot get your ex to distribute the property you’re entitled to, they may be held in contempt of court.
Missed Payments
Missed payment violations occur when your ex willingly refuses to pay spousal or child support, either in whole or in part. If your ex refuses to pay spousal or child support, there can be many ways the court can attempt to enforce payment, such as garnishing wages, suspending their license, and placing a lien on their property.
Parenting Plan Violations
You can’t file for contempt of court in a divorce case just because your ex was 15 minutes late for an exchange in a solitary incident. However, a pattern of failing to adhere to pick-up and drop-off times and visitation days may warrant escalated action. You’ll need to prove that your ex knew the guidelines stated in the plan and willingly and intentionally ignored the agreed-upon parenting plan. Common types of parenting plan violations include:
- A pattern of inconsistent pick-up and drop-off times.
- Refusing to release the children to you during designated visitation time.
- Moving to another state without prior court approval.
- Making major educational or medical decisions without the other parent’s input.
What are the Consequences of Contempt of Court?
The severity and type of divorce decree violation will determine the consequences if your ex is charged with contempt of court. These could include wage garnishment, modification of visitation time or support payments, license suspension, fines, or even jail time.
How to File for Contempt of Court
If your ex fails to comply with the divorce decree despite consistent and numerous attempts to get them to do so, it’s time to file for contempt of court. To do this, work with your Florida divorce attorney, who will help you file a Motion of Contempt or Enforcement. When you file the Motion for Contempt, your ex will be given one last chance to comply with the order. If they still don’t, a hearing will be scheduled to determine if your ex will be charged with contempt of court. During this hearing, you’ll need to present evidence of your ex’s willful and intentional misconduct and failure to comply despite having the means and resources to do so.
Help When Your Ex Fails to Comply With Your Divorce Decree
A non-compliant ex can complicate an already emotional and stressful situation. Fortunately, the court system allows a variety of ways to force your ex to comply with the order. If compliance still doesn’t happen, you can file for contempt of court to gain compliance from your ex to enforce the divorce decree. Our team at Peppler Law can help you gain compliance from your ex for divorce issues such as custody, support payments, and asset distribution, including filing for contempt of court for your divorce case. Call our office today or schedule an online consultation to see how we can help you move forward after your divorce.
