Enforcement of the Divorce Agreement

If you or your spouse disobeys an order that the court makes in your divorce judgment, there are ways to enforce those orders. Examples of disobedience of an order are failure to pay support, failure to turn over property that was awarded and refusal to allow the visitation that was ordered.

Orders to pay money can be enforced by garnishing wages or bank accounts or by having the sheriff or marshall seize and sell property belonging to the person who hasn't paid. Orders for support, to turn over property and for child visitation can usually be enforced by contempt of court proceedings. Papers are prepared and served on the disobedient person, ordering that person to appear in court. After a hearing, the judge can put the person in jail or impose a fine as necessary to make the person obey the order.