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Ex-wife has not paid any child support. State filed a motion to ask the court to find her in contempt...what does that mean?
Anonymous4 views3 answers
My ex-wife was ordered to pay child support in the amount of $318 per month (for our 4 kids in my custody) commencing on January 1st of 2014. She has failed to make any payment. I just received notification from the State of Wisconsin Child Support Division that our next court date is next week because they filed a motion to find her in contempt for failure to pay child support. I’m just wondering what this means. I plan to go to the court, my ex lives out-of-state and I doubt if she will appear by phone to the hearing. She hasn’t talked to the kids in over 4 months and she is heavily involved in drugs, has no job and refuses to get one. What does that mean when they find her in contempt of the child support order? Thank you in advance.
If she is found in contempt, typically the Court will impose a jail commitment but hold the commitment and give her what are called purge conditions. These will be things like pay support, perform job searches, etc. and if she complies with those, the commitment will not take effect. This is all assuming she appears and is found in contempt. If she fails to appear (and Child Support provides proof of service) she will be found in contempt and a bench warrant with a purge dollar amount will issued. If she is outside the state of Wisconsin, she probably won't get picked up on the warrant, though.
It means that she may face jail time or other penalty for non-payment. It makes sense for you to go with an Attorney to make sure your rights are protected at the hearing. Have you considered that?
When the person ordered by the Court to perform a particular task (or refrain from some activity) has failed to follow the Court's order, an interested party may move the Court to find that person in contempt. Essentially, it is a way of saying the person not following the Court's orders has purposefully and willfully refused to do as the Court has ordered.
