Whether you settled your divorce outside of court through mediation or arbitration, or you and your spouse had a judge settle it on your behalves through litigation, the result may undoubtedly be a divorce agreement. This agreement documents the terms of your divorce, such as how your marital property is to be divided; how your child custody rights are to be assigned; who is supposed to be the payor and receiver of child support and spousal support; and more. As you likely already know, this agreement is essentially a legally binding court order, making it far more than a suggestion to abide by. Well, with that being said, continue reading to learn what you should do if your former spouse violates the conditions of your enforced divorce agreement and how an experienced Bergen County divorce attorney at McNerney & McAuliffe can help you work this out appropriately and legally.
In what ways can my former spouse disobey our divorce agreement?
Your former spouse may, intentionally or unintentionally, be disobeying what was set out in your final divorce agreement. Their errors may be trivial or significantly affect your and your child’s life post-divorce. Without further ado, below are examples of how divorce agreements are typically violated:
- Your former spouse may consistently fail to make monthly child support payments on time.
- Your former spouse may consistently fail to pay the full amount of their spousal support.
- Your former spouse may be consistently late to drop off your child for your parenting time.
- Your former spouse may fail to transfer ownership of agreed-upon assets they have.
What happens if my former spouse violates our divorce agreement?
If your former spouse’s divorce agreement violation is a one-off incident, and you have remained amicable, it may be best to have an open conversation with them. Here, you may productively address your concerns and negotiate a resolution to avoid this happening again. For example, this may work if your issue was that they were a half hour or more late to drop off your child one time.
However, if they have made a habit of violating these conditions, you may want to suggest returning to mediation. You may be confident in its success especially if you settled your divorce through mediation in the first place. This may be best if the problem is with your spouse being unable to meet the full extent of their child or spousal support obligation.
In a drastic situation, though, you may have to file to enforce the terms of divorce. Or, one step further, you may file for contempt of court. Here, the court may impose serious legal and financial consequences onto your spouse; such as ordering them to pay for your incurred legal fees when having to file this motion, along with a $50 fine per documented violation. This action may be necessary if you believe your child is in danger, like if your former spouse is refusing to take them to your scheduled parenting time.
As a former spouse who is being mistreated and disrespected, there is no one better you can turn to than a skilled Bergen County family law attorney from our firm. So please, call us at McNerney & McAuliffe as soon as possible.
