Enforcement Lawyer in St. Charles MO

Is your spouse failing to comply with your court orders? You can ask the judge to force your spouse to comply, as these orders are obligations under the law. After you have had your divorce finalized, each spouse has to abide by all of the terms. Otherwise, one spouse can hold the other in contempt.

How to Enforce Your Court Orders

You can ask the courts to help you with enforcing compliance for many matters, such as child custody or child support payments. If you believe that your spouse is acting counter to your intentions or not in the best interests of your child, this may also be a matter for the courts.

The first step is to file a petition with the family court. Then, you would need to provide an explanation as to why you believe your spouse is not complying. For this, it would be immensely helpful to have our St. Charles contempt lawyer guide you through this process. Finally, a court hearing will be added to the docket, and you and your spouse will need to appear before the judge to litigate the terms.

What Happens When Someone Violates a Court Order?

Frequently, courts hold individuals who violate the terms of court orders in contempt of court. Penalties for being held in contempt of court can include fines, imprisonment in a county jail, or both.

However, it's worth noting that many courts prefer not to hold individuals who violate the terms of a court order in contempt of court. In many situations, applying a fine to someone who violates an order or sentencing them to jail simply results in that individual taking longer to comply with the court order.

As a result, many courts will try and find solutions that suit the parties better. This may include alternatives such as:

• Ordering the offending part to compensate the other individual for court and attorney fees;
• Modifying the court order the offending party violated to award the other party with more agency;
• Terminating certain rights, such as the right to physical custody, that the offending party possessed prior to violating the order;
• Awarding the other party make-up custody time in custody enforcement cases.

It's also worth noting that parties who have disagreements over court orders do not necessarily have to take their case to court. If you believe another party is violating a court order, you may first want to negotiate with them using a tool such as mediation before taking your case to court.

However, in many disputes, taking the offending party to court is the only way for the other party to obtain the justice and outcome they deserve. Our attorneys will usher you through your case, fighting for your rights in and out of court.

We Can Be By Your Side—Contact Us!

At Smith Law Offices, LLC we know that these times can be difficult to overcome, and it does not help when one side refuses to compromise or see eye-to-eye on matters. This is especially true if you have already made the agreements. That is why we are here to help you.