When Should I File For Contempt?

When someone files for contempt, this means that they are asserting that the other party in the particular case broke the court’s orders. For example, if someone were to file a Complaint for Contempt on a child custody matter, that would most likely be due to the other party in some way violating the child custody agreement.

However, this does not mean that every small misstep from the other party warrants a complaint for contempt. In fact, judges often disapprove of excessive complaints, which seem punitive and waste the court’s time. Orders from the court should be followed, but most court order’s will have a clause that allows for some flexibility and mutual cooperation given the unpredictability of life.

This is especially true given the pandemic, in which the child’s safety and protection from covid may result in temporarily changed custody situations.

Therefore, it may not be in your best interest to continually file contempts for things like rearranged schedules due to covid exposures, the party being five minutes late for pick-up, or something similar.

However, if the other party is continually and ill-intentionally going against the child custody arrangement, or withholding your child from you without cause, a complaint for contempt may be necessary.

Court is costly, so whenever disagreements can be solved outside the courtroom they should be. However, sometimes there is nothing else to do if the other party will not compromise or follow the court’s orders.

If you’ve found yourself in a similar situation, you can schedule a free consultation by clicking the link here: https://calendly.com/eganlawcenter/15min