What is Contempt of Court in Family Law?

Contempt of court is commonly referred to as ‘Contempt’ and focuses on enforcing court orders. For family law, contempt refers to actions taken to disobey a court order or actions not taken to follow a court order.

At Koiles Pratt Family Law Group, we help either party when a divorce order has been breached, or when a party has been accused of breaching an order. Our family law attorneys have extensive experience in all types of enforcement and contempt matters. We serve clients throughout the Greater Boston area including Boston, the North Shore, and the Merrimack Valley from Cambridge to Andover, to Newburyport to Manchester-by-the Sea.

Common examples of contempt in family law cases that our family law attorneys help our clients solve include:

• Child support and one parent not paying the child support owed
• Child custody and visitation
  • One parent refuses to allow the other the court-ordered visitation they are entitled to.
  • One parent will not return the child to the other at the end of visitation.
  • One parent does not make reasonable efforts to require a child to visit the other parent at the times the parenting plan states.
• Property division
  • One ex-spouse does not deliver property to the other as ordered in a divorce.

Property Division

As part of a divorce settlement, one party may be required to transfer an asset or retitle a property. If such actions do not occur, this is a form of contempt and Koiles Pratt Family Law Group can represent you in such a situation regarding a property division order.

Child Support

You may file or need to defend against contempt in the following situations:

• Receivers of child support: If you have not received the child support you are owed, our family law attorneys can file a complaint for contempt and represent you in a court hearing. If we are successful in obtaining results for you, the court may require the person found in contempt to pay your attorney fees.
• Payers of child support: In Massachusetts, if you fail to pay child support, you may have your wages or bank account garnished, and your driver’s license may be suspended until you pay your outstanding obligations and obtain a compliance letter from the Department of Revenue Child Support Enforcement Division (DOR/CSE). Our firm can represent you in any court proceeding, as well as seek a modification of the required child support payment if a significant change in your financial circumstances has occurred.

Child Custody And Visitation

If the other parent fails to comply with a child custody order or attempts to relocate your child to another location without your permission, we can represent you in an emergency hearing seeking compliance.