The finalization of divorce always produces a divorce agreement, which essentially documents the terms of a divorce (i.e., property division, child custody, child support, and spousal support). You must know that this is a legally binding court order. So, if your former spouse believes you went against any of its terms, they may hold you in contempt of court, and vice versa. With that being said, please continue reading to learn what it means to be held in contempt of court and how an experienced Morris County divorce lawyer at Graves Andrews, LLC can hold your former spouse accountable if need be.
In family law, what does it mean to be held in contempt of court?
In short, if you are held in contempt of family court, you have been found to willfully disobey or fail to comply with your court-ordered divorce agreement. Without further ado, you may willfully disobey or be noncompliant in any of the following ways:
- You may fail to pay your monthly child or spousal support payments on time and in full.
- You may fail to transfer ownership of certain marital assets to your former spouse as agreed upon.
- You may refuse to return your child to your former spouse for their scheduled parenting time session.
- You may deny or severely limit your formal spouse of visitation or any form of contact with your child.
- You may relocate with your child without the proper court approval and interfere with your custody schedule.
- You may fail to produce financial documents influencing your property division and support arrangements.
How do I hold my former spouse in contempt of court?
Let’s say you believe your former spouse to be guilty of any of the aforementioned violations. Well then, you must file a motion of contempt form in the family court clerk’s office that ordered your divorce agreement in the first place.
When filing this motion, you carry the responsibility of satisfying your burden of proof. That is, you must have strong enough evidence that your former spouse committed this violating act. Also, you must demonstrate that this violation was severe enough to negatively impact your and your child’s wellbeing. This is because the court may not grant your motion if they fail to see the seriousness of the matter.
Ultimately, if the court finds that your former spouse directly violated a condition of your divorce agreement, they may impose serious legal and financial penalties. For one, they may have your former spouse pay for the attorney and court fees you incurred from having to file this motion to begin with. Also, they may be charged a $50 fine for each violation they were found guilty of. And if their violation was quite serious, they may be facing garnished wages, negative changes to their custody rights, possible jail time, and much more.
As a former spouse who is being mistreated and disrespected, there is no one better you can turn to than a skilled Morristown family law attorney from our firm. So please, call us at Graves Andrews, LLC as soon as possible.
