Once a judge finalizes your contested divorce, they give you a divorce decree to follow. In this divorce decree, the judge determines which spouse gets what. Whether you and your spouse reach an agreement or not, you have to follow the terms in the divorce decree. If you feel that your former spouse is not keeping up their obligations as laid out in the divorce decree, you can file a Calhoun County Contempt Petition with the Court.
In Calhoun County, Alabama, to find your ex-spouse in Contempt of Court you can file aRule Nisi or Contempt Petition against your former spouse. This petition will compel them to comply with the obligations. Therefore some common reasons to file a Rule Nisi or Contempt petition include:
Failure to pay child support
Prohibiting communications with a parent and a child
Failing to pay medical expenses for a child
Not paying court-ordered insurance
Failure to comply with visitation conditions
Withholding awarded money and/or property
Any other obligations imposed by the court.
There is a filing fee for this petition which varies by county. You file the petition in the county of the awarded divorce decree. Hire a Calhoun County Contempt Petition attorney to file this case for you. The attorney can present your side of the story in a way that sheds the best light on the situation and brings relevant facts and law to light. To do something like this, our local contempt petition lawyer will require a retainer. Most family law attorneys work on an hourly rate and bill out of this retainer for the work performed. The attorneys keep up with the hours worked and bill you accordingly.
Our family law attorney will have to quote you an initial retainer based on your particular situation. Call today and get a free phone consultation for a retainer quote over the phone. If you cannot afford to pay a retainer, there may be other options available. For instance, your local DHR office can help if your former spouse is not paying child support.
Filing a Rule Nisi or Contempt Petition in Anniston
Once you file the petition, the court will schedule a hearing. The defending party (your ex) has to testify under oath to the court. They will explain why they are not following the terms of the agreement or prove that they are in compliance. However, if the court finds that they are not abiding by the terms of the divorce decree, the Judge can order them to come into compliance within a certain period of time. The judge can have your ex spouse put in jail or fine them substantial amounts until they follow the judge’s orders.
There are options available if you live in Anniston, Jacksonville, Oxford, Piedmont or the surrounding areas of Calhoun County. The most common way to address the problem with your former spouse is to discuss the issue. If discussing with them will not work, filing a Petition for Rule Nisi with the court will.
The hearing will determine if they are not in compliance with your divorce decree. A judge can attempt to make sure the ex spouse carries out the rules ordered. Since this kind of motion involves a hearing and a non-compliant ex-spouse, the fees can be fairly expensive. Amounts can vary, but most cases will require anywhere from $1500 to $3000 or more up front. Also, our divorce lawyer can sometimes work with you on the fees and we do take partial payments up front sometimes. If you call our family law attorney today, we might be able to work something out.