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If you violate a court order, you could find yourself in contempt and should have legal representation to clear up the matter as quickly as possible. If your ex-spouse is violating a court order then it’s good to have legal representation to prove it in court. Being held in contempt of a court order is a serious matter. Depending upon what the violation entails and just how egregiously the judge feels you have behaved, your punishment can be harsh. The judge could order you to pay attorneys’ fees and costs to your spouse, or even have you spend time in jail if the contempt involves a criminal violation or if you refuse to do something that the court has ordered you to do. Family court orders such as; custody, visitation, child support, and alimony can result in a finding of contempt of court. The family law court orders are legally binding in court and willfully disobeying them can have consequences. The following are some of the most frequent violations of court orders that can land you in contempt…

To be found in contempt it must be proven that the accused person knew the order existed, could comply with the order but violated the conditions knowingly and lacks an excuse for the violation. For instance, if one spouse is accusing the other of not paying child support for the past few months, the accuser must gather evidence that proves the payments were not made. On the other hand, the accused parent can also collect evidence to prove they did make the payment if they actually have made the payments.

Failure to Pay Child Support

Not paying your child support on time or in full doesn’t hurt your spouse: it hurts your children.

Failure to Pay Alimony

Similar to child support, when the spouse who was ordered to pay spousal support fails to do so, it can place the spouse receiving the support in financial straits.

Denying Visitation

This often goes hand-in-hand with the other parent not making his or her child support payments.

Not Returning Your Child From Visitation

Similar to withholding a child from attending visitation, when a parent who is exercising his or her visitation fails to return their child to the primary custodial parent, it will inevitably cause a major problem.

Failure to Execute Marital Property Transfers

Certain assets, debts and property may come with documentation that must be executed in to legally transfer it.

Consequences of Contempt

Violation of a court order is serious, and you could find yourself paying dearly. Committing contempt can include both civil and criminal penalties, such as fines, attorney fees, reduced custody time, and even jail. The entire point of civil contempt was originally to coerce compliance rather than punish with confinement. More times than not, the possibility of jail time is enough to convince the offending party to comply with the order so additional punishment is not necessary. Some states also issue economic damages, which forces one party to compensate the other for any economic losses they may have suffered because of violating the orders. In most cases, if someone is held in contempt, the court will first give them the opportunity to make amends for the violation.



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