My ex-spouse isn't living up to our Divorce Decree. What do I do?
You have many different remedies, but which remedies you choose depends upon exactly what your ex-spouse failed to do.
For example, if you are owed child support or alimony, you have such options as contempt of court (including having your ex-spouse put in jail for nonpayment), wage garnishment, and court-ordered seizure of certain assets your ex-spouse has, even IRAs and pension benefits. You also can be awarded reimbursement of attorney's fees for having to chase after payment. When the amount owed is unpaid child support, you can also seek suspension of the driver's license of your ex-spouse and diversion of your ex-spouse's tax refunds to you.
When your ex-spouse is not complying with other financial aspects of your divorce decree, you can seek court relief, but not contempt. You can obtain a Judgment against your ex-spouse and then use various collection methods to seize your ex-spouse's assets and wages to collect what you are owed.
When your ex-spouse is not complying with obligations related to child custody and visitation, you may be able to have your ex-spouse held in contempt of court. You can seek to alter the custodial or visitation arrangements, including make-up visitation if your access to the children has been denied, or limited or supervised visitation against your ex-spouse if he/she is guilty of misconduct that is detrimental to the best interests of the children. If the violation is repeatedly not exercising visitation, you may also seek to change the child support payments and to obtain funds for babysitters and after-care programs.
What remedies to pursue depends upon what provisions of the Divorce Decree have been broken, when they were broken, and how serious the violations are. In general, the more serious the violation, the more significant the penalty to be imposed upon the ex-spouse.
Contact the Boca Raton Attorneys of Feldman & Schneiderman, P.L.
If your former spouse is not living up to the terms of your divorce settlement, contact our office to discuss how we can help you. We can be reached by email, at 561-948-4769 or toll free at 877-645-5762.
