How To Enforce a Family Court Order in PA
Family Law
When you’re co-parenting or going through a divorce, you can’t afford for the other party to renege on their part of the deal. If this happens, an experienced divorce attorney can help you enforce the conditions of your family court order in PA. To learn more about what to expect, read on.
The Process Involved in Enforcing a Family Court Order
Since the family court process in PA can be confusing, it’s a good idea to reach out for professional legal help. You need to make sure you carefully document the ways the order wasn’t enforced and follow the court procedures. If you are successful at seeking enforcement, there can be serious consequences for the violator.
Understand the Family Court Order
The first step in getting your family court order enforced is understanding what type of order you’re dealing with. For example, you may have orders involving custody, spousal support, visitation, child support, or the division of property. Each type of topic is enforced in different ways.
For monetary orders, the court may end up withholding the individual’s income through wage garnishment. There may also be civil proceedings to enforce the order. In some cases, the individual may be charged with contempt of court, fined, or forced to pay the other side’s attorney’s fees. If someone refuses to pay support and has repeatedly violated their court orders, they can even be held in contempt of court.
Gather Your Evidence
To demonstrate that the other side isn’t following the family court order, you have to have documentary evidence. This may involve texts about missed exchanges, call logs, payment histories, account statements, or similar documents.
File Your Contempt Petition
Next, you’ll need to file a Petition for Civil Contempt with the court that originally issued the order. This is basically the document that gets the ball rolling in the court. Once this is filed, the other party must be served as specified in Pennsylvania Rule 1915.12(d). Later, you’ll need to go to a contempt hearing.
If the hearing involves child support, the Bureau of Child Support Enforcement (BCSE) in Pennsylvania may be able to help you with enforcement. They can intercept taxes, suspend the other party’s license, issue a lien, or withhold income to get child support back.
Go to the Contempt Hearing
Next, you’ll have to go to a court hearing. The judge will listen to evidence from both sides about whether the other party disobeyed the court order or not. To be held in contempt, the other party must have acted willfully. This means that it must be shown that they didn’t simply forget an alimony payment or lose track of time when they were supposed to drop off the child.
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If the court finds the party guilty of contempt, they can be punished in a variety of different ways. They may face fines, jail time, wage garnishment, property liens, or the seizure of assets. Taxes and benefits can be intercepted to recuperate child support, spousal support, or alimony. Additionally, you may be given makeup parenting time if the other parent denied you your court-ordered visitation or custody time.
Why You Need Professional Legal Assistance To Enforce Family Court Orders
While it’s possible to file the paperwork on your own, time is of the essence. Especially in urgent situations involving the potential harm to the child, it’s a good idea to move quickly and get professional legal help. If the other side is acting in bad faith, 42 Pa. C.S. § 2503(7) and (9) let you ask the court to have the other party cover your legal fees.
With professional legal assistance, you can get help gathering and presenting evidence. Your PA family court attorney will make sure you have all of your documents filed correctly, so that you can potentially achieve a better outcome. If you’re dealing with a high-conflict or interstate case, it’s especially important to get all the help you can find.
Learn More About Family Court Order Enforcement
In Pennsylvania family court, civil contempt is a convenient tool that the court can use to enforce support, custody, and visitation cases. However, you’ll need to prove that the other party willfully violated the case. Because of this, it is incredibly important to be proactive about documenting violations and filing the correct paperwork.
If you’re struggling to navigate family court, we can help. The Clause Law Group is your one firm for life. We serve clients in Newfoundland, Greentown, Lake Ariel, Scranton, Tafton, Pocono Pines, and the surrounding areas.
Schedule your initial consultation by calling us at (570) 676-5212 today!
