Enforcing Family Law Orders And Judgments

If the other party is not following an order or judgment, whether during the pendency of your case or after it went to judgment, we can help you gain compliance or be compensated for the damages caused to you for any failure to comply.

At Kajko, Weisman & Colasanti, LLP, we use contempt of court proceedings and other methods to enforce family law judgments. Contact us for a free, confidential consultation with an attentive lawyer. We have offices in Lexington and Nashua.

Pursuing Contempt Of Court Actions

The primary enforcement mechanism for any order or judgment is to have the person who is not complying answer to why he or she is not complying; that party may then be held in contempt of court and may be ordered to compensate you for any damages, including attorney’s fees. Parties may be held in contempt for many reasons such as:

Failing to pay child support or alimony
Refusing to exchange a child for scheduled parenting time
Breaching the terms of a property settlement
Failing to reimburse a parent for child-related costs

When someone is found to be in contempt of court, the judge has several options, up to and including sending that person to jail. If you hire a lawyer to pursue a contempt action and you are successful, the other party can also be required to pay your reasonable attorneys’ fees.

Exploring All Of Your Enforcement Options

There are a number of other enforcement strategies our attorneys can pursue, depending on the facts of each case. For child support, there is also a state child support enforcement agency. However, this process can be much slower than hiring a private attorney, and they often do not take the time to understand your situation and the complexities of your damages.

If your ex-spouse or your child’s other parent is not doing what he or she is supposed to do, we can help you understand and pursue your enforcement options.

Defending Against A Complaint For Contempt

We also defend clients who have been targeted in enforcement actions. Sometimes, you have good cause for not complying with an order or judgment such as loss of employment, impossibility to perform or some emergency occurred. In such instances, you will need good counsel on your side to keep you from a finding of contempt and monetary ramifications against you.