What Happens if a Parent Violates a Custody or Support Order?

If your ex does not abide by the terms of your court-ordered parenting plan or child support order, you can petition the court to enforce the orders, and it might hold your ex in contempt of court.

Co-parenting with your ex-spouse is a challenging situation for everyone. The purpose of court-ordered parenting plans is to resolve disputes over parenting time and major decisions about children’s education and healthcare before they arise. Even though parenting plans are legally binding court orders, they only accomplish their purpose if both parents abide by them. Likewise, child support orders constitute a legally binding obligation, but a court order cannot wish money into existence. What happens if your ex-spouse does not follow your parenting plan or child support order, either intentionally or because circumstances beyond your ex’s control prevent him or her from abiding by the court orders? A Murfreesboro family law attorney can help you enforce a court-ordered parenting plan or child support order that your ex is not following.

Parenting Plans are a Court Order, Not Merely a Suggestion

Most Tennessee parenting plans arise as agreements drafted during mediation sessions ordered by the family court. The parents decide who gets which days of parenting time and how they will approach non-financial decisions about the children’s upbringing, and the court reviews and signs the parenting plan into a court order if the plan is in the children’s best interests. The family court orders the parents of minor children to attend mediation for the purpose of drafting a parenting plan if the parents file for divorce or if they were never legally married to each other, but one parent has requested court-ordered parenting time or child support. Even though the parents are the architects of the parenting plan, once it bears a judge’s signature, it is a legally binding court order, and the court calculates child support based on it.

Parents should be flexible and can mutually agree to deviate from the plan; however, one parent deviating from the parenting plan is a violation of a court order. If one parent gets upset about the other spending only one night per week with the children instead of two or dropping by unannounced on Black Friday for a spontaneous visit to the county fair, the other has recourse to the courts to enforce the court orders.

Jail and Wage Garnishment Are the Last Resort

If you go to court to enforce the parenting plan, sometimes the mere threat of legal action is all it takes to get your ex to comply. Your ex might argue that the parenting plan is infeasible, and you should modify it, which is a potential solution. If your ex stubbornly refuses to comply but does not agree to modify the parenting plan, the court could impose fines or even order jail time by holding your ex in contempt of court. If your ex does not pay child support, the court can garnish your ex’s paychecks.

Murfreesboro Co-Parenting and Child Support Lawyer

A family law attorney can help you enforce or modify your parenting plan. Contact David L. Scott in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, or call (615)896-7656 to set up a consultation.