Family Lawyers - Contempt, Failure to pay Child Support, Alimony, Spousal Support in Atlanta & Georgia

A party can be held in contempt of court when it fails to meet various obligations required by a court order, such as paying child support or alimony. When a court is confronted with a contempt case, it is forced to decide three critical elements: 1) whether there has been a violation of a prior court order; 2) whether said violation was willful or involuntary; and, 3) what to do about the violation. Whether you are the party trying enforcing a prior order of a court (such as a final divorce decree) or trying to defend yourself from a contempt of court action, the family law attorneys at Meriwether & Tharp can help you with your case.

Defending a Contempt of Court Action

If you are facing a contempt of court action, it is important to take the case very seriously. Failure to properly respond can lead to the court assuming you are willfully ignoring your obligations leaving the judge with few options except to put you in jail until you comply with its orders.

Unfortunately, especially in today's economy, many people are facing a loss of their job or a dramatic decrease in pay. Rest assured that the courts are sympathetic to your concerns - IF they find that your circumstances were the result of involuntary factors. Having a trusted legal advisor on your side can help you best explain to the court the reason, if true, of why you have been unable to meet your obligations and prepare proposals that both the opposing party and court will allow you to exercise when you face a loss of a job or a dramatic decrease in salary.

Pursuing a Contempt of Court Action

Unfortunately, despite a divorce decree or some other order from a court requiring an ex-spouse (or soon to be ex-spouse) to pay child support or alimony or perform some other duty under said court order, many people do not receive what they were legally entitled to receive. While we always encourage reminders being sent to individuals that have failed to fulfill their duties, often these reminders are not enough to motivate a change of behavior from the other party.

In these types of cases, Meriwether & Tharp can assist you in trying to force compliance by the other party by helping you to invoke the contempt of court powers that the court has to help mandate compliance from your ex-spouse. Perhaps just as importantly, it is our philosophy that you must be careful when deciding when and whether to pursue these types of actions given potential legal fees that you can incur along the way - which may or may not be recoverable depending upon the type of case and circumstances of the parties. The last thing you want to do when you are not receiving funds that are rightfully yours is to come out of pocket and spend even more money in a case that may not be worth the effort.

In cases where it appears that contempt is required and will be cost beneficial to pursue, we can help you file the appropriate paperwork to bring the issue back before the court and prepare your case for trial to best present the evidence needed to win. Moreover, because of our experience in handling these types of matters, we can often help to craft helpful solutions that may help you receive better compliance from your spouse than just using the contempt powers to toss your ex-spouse in jail (and further ensuring they will not be able to pay future child and/or spousal support obligations).