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How to Enforce a Divorce Decree in Texas
A divorce decree is a legally binding order, and if your ex-spouse is refusing to honor that decree, you can ask the courts to enforce it. These are usually made in reference to property division, support, or child custody. There is a specific way to go about enforcing these orders, and your Houston divorce attorney can tell you more.
How to Enforce a Divorce Decree in Texas
Identify the Specific Violation
To get the court to enforce the order, you will have to be able to show exactly what is being violated and provide proof of it. Common issues here include an ex-spouse failing to pay child support or alimony or refusing to give up property that they have been ordered to surrender, such as a house or a vehicle.
To qualify for enforcement, the decree itself must be specific about what needs to happen, clear, and issued by a court which has jurisdiction in the matter. Your lawyer can make sure that all these things are true about your decree, and then help you determine exactly what has been violated and how to express this in the terms of the original court order’s specific language.
Talk to Houston Divorce Attorney
All of this will go much more quickly and easily with an attorney on your side. An attorney will help you verify what the court order is actually saying so you can be sure that your ex-spouse is in violation of the order. Then your attorney will help you compile evidence and present it before the court to argue for an enforcement order, if it comes to that. Your attorney can also help you with the next steps, which try to resolve the issue without having to take it to court.
Try to Resolve It
If you have a dangerous ex-spouse, then you may wish to skip this step. But otherwise, you’d be amazed at how effective a polite written request, whether in letter form or email, can sometimes be. Reminding the other party of their obligations without casting blame or degrading them in any way, and then politely asking for compliance, could be all you need to do. Your lawyer can help you to write such a letter in the way that has the best chance of success.
Be sure to keep copies of all communications you have on this issue with your ex-spouse because you may need it as evidence later. It may be easier to get the court to enforce the order when you can show that you have tried all non-adversarial avenues to get it taken care of. If your ex-spouse responds with an absolute no or doesn’t respond at all, you’ll probably need to move on to the next step. If they respond with a yes, you’re done. And if they respond in a qualified manner, it may be possible to negotiate a resolution. Talk to your lawyer, who is experienced in negotiations of this type and may be able to facilitate such a discussion.
File a Motion to Enforce
If all your other attempts fail, the next thing to do is to file a motion in the same court that originally issued the divorce decree. Your motion will ask the court to compel your ex-spouse to comply and, depending on the situation, may also ask for penalties to be applied for the violations. You must file this motion in the correct court and provide all the required evidence to prove that the order has been violated. For example, if you’re trying to prove that your ex has stopped paying spousal support or child support, you may need to provide bank statements from when they were paying showing the amounts and how they typically arrived into your account and then bank statements where those payments are missing.
Once a motion has been filed, and if it has been done correctly and has all required evidence, the court will typically schedule a hearing that allows both sides to present their case. As you prepare carefully for this hearing, your attorney will make sure you’re coached you on what to expect to maximize your chances of success.
Potential Remedies
Once the hearing is finished, and if the court has found that your ex has violated the decree, there are several remedies that it might use to enforce compliance. If you’re talking about unpaid support, the court could issue a money judgment not only for the amount that’s owed but also for interest. The court can garnish your ex-spouse’s wages or put a lien on their property to ensure that the required money is paid.
If your ex has been denying you your court-ordered visitation or custody rights, the court might drastically change the visitation schedule and may even order make-up parenting time for you. If the issue is a property division violation, such as if your spouse refuses to cooperate in transferring the title to a car, for instance, not only can the court compel them to make that transfer, but it can also award you compensatory damages.
Penalties for Non-Compliance
Texas takes it very seriously when someone violates a court order, including a divorce order. The goal here is to make sure that compliance happens into the future with no further issues, so the court can also hit your ex-spouse with contempt of court as a penalty. Contempt of court can come with fines, jail time of up to six months, and may also involve your ex being required to pay your attorney fees and all court fees.
Challenges and Defenses
You should be prepared for the types of defenses that your ex-spouse is likely to bring to justify why they are not following the court order or hide their noncompliance. These can create challenges for your case, and your Houston divorce attorney will help you be prepared for all of them.
One common challenge is claiming that their financial situation is such that they are not able to make payments that the court has required. They may also argue that they didn’t understand the language of the original court order. Another common tactic is to allege that you agreed to modify the terms in an informal setting. They may claim that they contacted you about reducing child support after they lost their job and that you agreed to this.
You can expect the court to consider all the defenses that are raised, but if you have carefully prepared your case and have the evidence that you need, these defenses are unlikely to hold water. For example, if your ex tries to claim that you made an informal agreement to change the terms of the court order, they will need to show specific evidence that this happened if you deny it. If they don’t have a text message or email to that effect, it will be difficult for them to prove this. It’s still important, however, that your family law attorney anticipate these challenges, prepare effective counterarguments, and ensure your enforcement action stays on track.
If you need help with enforcing a court order, contact us today at C.E. Schmidt & Associates, PLLC in Houston, TX.
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