Contempt

One way to enforce a court order is by way of filing a Motion for Contempt.  There are two types of contempt that are used different ways.

• Civil Contempt – Civil Contempt is filed when you want someone to comply with the court’s order.  This can be used when a person is failing to meet financial obligations, or continually failing to abide by a custody or visitation order.  When you file a Motion for Civil Contempt, you may be asking for a person to sign over the title to the vehicle that they were ordered to sign over to you six months ago, pay child support, or comply with the visitation order so that you can see your children.  The judge can hold a person in civil contempt and provide “purge” conditions, which are essentially directions for the other person to follow in order to come into compliance with the court’s order.  You have the ability to recover any attorney’s fees incurred during this process, even if the other person complies with the order prior to your court date.  Contact Robison Smith Law today to assist you with this process.

• Criminal Contempt – Criminal Contempt is used to punish someone for their failure to obey the court order.  This is used during situations where civil contempt does not make sense, because that person cannot come into compliance with the court’s order.  If the other parent failed to follow the joint legal custody provision in your custody order and proceed with a major surgery for your child without discussing that with you, then the other parent can be punished for that.  The violation happened and cannot be corrected.  If you need to file a Motion for Criminal Contempt to punish the other party for violating the order, then the attorneys at Robison Smith Law can assist you.  The other party can potentially face fines or jail time.

You have a court order for a reason, and our attorneys will ensure that the other party follows that order by assisting you in filing the proper motions and representing your legal position in court.  Call or text us today at (704) 741-0220, email us, or set up your consultation online.