When you and your spouse complete mediation sessions and sign a marital settlement agreement, you may assume that the hard part is over. However, you must not forget that once a New Jersey family court approves of this agreement, it will incorporate it into your final divorce judgment. This means that the most challenging time for you may be upholding these court-ordered, legally-binding settlement terms and conditions. This may be especially true if you later discover that this agreement was unfair, inconvenient, or unrealistic for your life post-divorce. So, if this is your case, please continue reading to learn how you might violate your marital settlement agreement and how an experienced Morristown uncontested divorce lawyer at Graves Andrews, LLC can help you avoid any serious punishments for such.
How can I possibly violate my marital settlement agreement from mediation?
Your marital settlement agreement may include very intricate details about your obligations towards divorce-related issues like child custody, child support, spousal support, and property division. So, even the smallest and accidental misstep may cause you to violate what you promised your former spouse in your mediation sessions. More specific examples of possible infractions include the following:
- A child custody violation: you may fail to involve your child’s other parent in making a major educational, healthcare, or religious decision.
- A child support violation: you may forget to reimburse your spouse for agreed-upon child-related expenses that arise (i.e., childcare, medical bills, etc).
- A spousal support violation: you may neglect to inform the payor that you now cohabitate with your new partner to trigger the termination clause.
- A property division violation: you may fail to refinance a mortgage to remove your spouse’s financial responsibility before the allotted deadline.
What are the consequences of violating a marital settlement agreement?
To reiterate, your marital settlement agreement is a legally-binding court order. So when you do not hold up your end of the contract in any way, your former spouse may exercise their legal right to file a motion to enforce or contempt with the New Jersey family court that handled your initial divorce case. Of note, they may do so while bypassing the opportunity to resolve this issue with you informally through additional mediation sessions.
This motion may trigger a judge to order immediate compliance. Plus, depending on the exact violation you committed and its severity, they may use their discretion to impose additional penalties. For example, if you have run up a considerable child support or spousal support bill, a judge may order wage garnishment, bank account seizures, judgments for unpaid balances and interest, etc.
Or, if you were found to deprive your child’s other parent of parenting time, they may modify your schedule to make up for this lost time. In a more serious case, though, where you might have denied your child’s other parent contact or access to them while they were under your supervision, the court may lessen your custody or visitation rights. Lastly, if you were caught concealing assets during your property division discussions, you may be subject to fines, jail time, and criminal charges like perjury.
To conclude, please prioritize scheduling an initial consultation with a skilled Morristown family law attorney from Graves Andrews, LLC. We would be honored to represent you in your legal case.