What should you do if your Ex is not following a Court Order or Parenting Plan? Contempt of Court.

If your Ex is not following a Court Order or Parenting Plan that has been ordered by the Court, you should document every violation or refusal to follow the Order, to include the date, time, and description of the violation and any facts that you believe may assist your attorney in enforcing the Order. Refusing to follow the Court Order or Parenting Plan Order could be either Criminal Contempt or Civil Contempt of Court, both of which could result in jail time for the one who is in violation. The Daubenspeck Law Office can assist you in enforcing these Orders.

Criminal Contempt is to punish the offender who is violating the Court Order by fine or up to 10 day in jail for each offense. Criminal Contempt is often used when the offending party would not be able to repair the office that has already occurred. A good example is when one parent withholds a child from the other parent who is ordered to have parenting time. The parent withholding the child from the other parent could go to jail for up to 10 days per incident.

Civil Contempt is usually used to compel a party to follow an Order of the Court. The offender in Civil Contempt holds the keys to the jail. A good example with when someone refuses to pay child or spousal support, or provide documentation to the other party. The court can find the party refusing to follow the Court Order in Civil Contempt and they can be held in jail until they purge themselves of that contempt by following the Order.

If a party is found to be in Contempt, the filing party may be awarded a judgment for their attorney fees.