Complaint for Contempt of Child Support
Are you in the unenviable position of having a child support order that the parent of the child or children won’t pay? This is a very difficult position to be in as a parent as it leaves you working extra hard to make up for the lost income, or worse, not being able to replace the lost income and having your children go without. When child support is not paid by a parent you have options, attorney Gaudet is ready to fight for you…please give our office a call or email us at your earliest convenience.
The Complaint for Contempt
The Complaint for contempt is the tool that lawyer’s use in Probate and Family Court in Massachusetts to assist their clients in gaining compliance with an existing child support order. Of course, if there is no existing child support order then this fact must be addressed first. However, in cases where there is an existing child support order, the next step when a parent is refusing to pay child support is to file a Complaint for Contempt.
The First Steps to Getting Compliance with a Child Support Order in Massachusetts
- The Complaint for Contempt must be filed with the appropriate Massachusetts court.
- A Child Support Contempt Hearing is held.
Filing the Complaint for Contempt
Our offices will ensure that the complaint is for contempt of child support is property drafted, then served to the other parent either by sheriff or constable. A return of service is then filed with the Massachusetts court and a Child Support Contempt Hearing is scheduled.
The Child Support Contempt Hearing in Massachusetts
If we have filed the complaint for contempt on your behalf, you would be the plaintiff and the parent who is not obeying the order is the defendant. The defendant needs to provide proof as to why they are not obeying the child support order. The judge will make a determination based on evidence provided at the hearing and if the judge finds that the defendant has the ability to obey the order and is not obeying the order, the judge will make an order which could include the following:
The defendant serves jail time
participate in a community service program
attend job readiness or training programs
conduct a job search and report these attempts to a probation officer
pay the entire amount of due (the amount in arrears)
pay regular child support plus a specific amount of money until the arrears are paid off
Where the defendant is found to be in contempt but can’t make payments on current child support, is unemployed and is not disabled, the judge must order a job search, job readiness or training, or community service program attendance.
How Are My Attorney’s Fees Paid?
We will ask the court for a reimbursement of the attorney’s fees and court fees that you have incurred to date at this hearing or in a motion before the hearing. Where contempt is found, the judge will order reasonable attorney’s fees to be paid by the other party to your attorney or to you (if you have prepaid these fees).
When the Other Parent Won’t Show Up for the Child Support Contempt Hearing
When the other parent decides that they won’t go to a child support contempt hearing, the court orders what is known as a capias warrant. Such a warrant allows a sheriff or constable to locate and arrest the parent who fails to show up at the hearing, and to bring that person into court for a hearing.
How We Can Help
Attorney Gaudet will attend the hearing with you, explaining the process as it progresses and getting you prepared for the hearing. Contact our offices today if you live in Massachusetts and require assistance in receiving child support from a client where you already have an existing child support order. If you don’t have a current child support order and wish to obtain one, we can also help you with that matter.
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