When Your Ex Breaks Bad: What to Know About Contempt & Enforcement

What do you do when your former spouse or other party refuses or fails to follow the terms of your decree or court order? Have they ignored or refused to pay their child support obligation, alimony, or scheduled property settlement payments on time or in the right amount? Have they refused to turn the property awarded to you in your decree over to you? Is the other parent refusing to follow the custody or visitation orders regarding your children?

In Iowa, you have to file an action against the other party to seek enforcement of the existing court decree order. The enforcement action is formally known as an Application for Rule to Show Cause, commonly referred to as a contempt filing. This filing brings the opposing party's bad acts to the court's attention.

Conduct that is intentional and deliberate, with a bad or evil purpose, can be contemptuous. If an action is taken in disregard of one's rights, or is unauthorized, and taken without concern of whether the other party had a right to do it, the act may be contemptuous. The party's violation of the court order or decree must be willful. If the party knows they have a duty and act contrary to that duty, their act (or inaction) can be willful for contempt purposes.

If the court finds the party (also known as the contemnor) to have willfully disobeyed a court order or decree, it will likely find them in contempt and punish them. The punishment for contempt may be a commitment to the county jail for up to thirty (30) days for each finding of contempt. Those findings can add up as each missed payment or missed visitation period can be a separate charge of contempt.

In some instances, the court may enter an order as an alternative to punishment for contempt. If it involves financial issues, the court could modify an income withholding order, force the posting of a bond to guarantee future timely payments, or place restrictions on a license (including a professional license). If children's issues are involved, the court could modify visitation terms of an existing decree, require a cash bond posting to ensure timely return of a child, or even transfer custody of a child (if the actions were severe enough). But these aren't the only risks in a contempt case. When the court enters a contempt finding, it will likely order the offender to pay court costs, including the filing party's reasonable attorney fees.

The team at CashattWarren can help you get the court to enforce the financial terms of your decree or order. We have helped clients seek relief from the court to require parents to comply with the parenting schedule, visitation schedule, or legal custody terms. CashattWarren attorneys have pursued parties who have failed to pay financial obligations such as child support, alimony, and property settlements. Our team works to secure court orders in contempt cases that have consequences for future failures to follow orders or decrees, so you have some security in knowing you will not be right back in court on another contempt.

Unfortunately, if you are the party finding themselves faced with a contempt action, you need help from the attorneys at CashattWarren. Our team will work to find a resolution of the dispute and minimize the risks to you - from the court and to your finances.

CashattWarren has the experience you can count on and the expertise you can trust to help you enforce court orders (or to protect you as best possible when you have not followed them). To work with us, schedule a consultation today by calling us at 515.421.9290.

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