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Key Takeaways Court orders remain binding until the court changes them. A party generally cannot ignore a divorce, child-support, spousal-support, or parental-rights order simply because circumstances have changed or the order seems unfair. Enforcement and contempt...
Key Takeaways Criminal contempt is an extraordinary remedy. It is reserved for serious, willful conduct that undermines the authority of the court and is not appropriate for every violation of a family court order. Criminal contempt and civil contempt serve different...
How to Enforce a Connecticut Family Court Order Key Takeaways Court orders carry legal obligations. Once a Connecticut family court enters an order concerning child support, alimony, custody, parenting time, property, or another issue, the parties must follow it...
Key Takeaways Contempt Requires More Than a Violation of an Order. Not every failure to follow a court order results in contempt. In most cases, the court must find that the party knew about the order, had the ability to comply, and willfully chose not to do so....
Contempt is one of the primary enforcement tools in the law. In the Probate and Family Court, judges use it regularly to address noncompliance with court orders, whether those involve parenting time, communication, financial obligations, or other directives. It is a...
When custody disputes arise, few scenarios provoke more anxiety than the prospect of one parent taking a child abroad and failing to return. While parental kidnapping may occur domestically, international parental kidnapping is a significantly more complex issue....
The Massachusetts Appeals Court recently decided Rabinowitz v. Schenkman, a case with shocking facts. The parties in Rabinowitz, former spouses, executed a separation agreement, which a probate and family court judge approved and incorporated into a 2014 amended...
Hiding assets is a hot topic in divorce. In Massachusetts, one of the court's goals in a divorce is to divide assets fairly--though not necessarily equally--between the parties. This is done through a process known as equitable distribution. The court also aims to...
In a new case, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court addresses the important constitutional safeguards a defendant must receive in a child support contempt matter. Case Facts The parties in the case, Department of Revenue Child Support Enforcement v....
James must pay $153 per week in child support as part of his divorce from Jeri. For the past two months, James has not paid any support to Jeri. What could happen in this case? There can be several consequences for parents when they do not pay their child support...