Do you need assistance from a Houston enforcement action lawyer?
In family law, an enforcement action is a process by which you legally document the opposing party’s failure to abide by the order of the court.
You may need to pursue an enforcement action against the opposing party for a variety of reasons, including violations of existing injunctions (such as a custody order, or a support order), alimony, division of community estate, and more.
After an exhausting divorce or custody suit, you might breathe a sigh of relief having finally reached the end of a long battle. You probably imagine calmer skies ahead. Unfortunately, for some individuals, the fight is only starting to heat up.
The reality is that a judge can come up with a custody schedule and order child support, but you still need to rely on your child’s parent to follow through in honoring his or her part of the deal. What happens if your child’s parent denies you visitation or you are being falsely accused of disobeying the court order?
Imagine if your child support payment suddenly stop or your ex-spouse refuses to sign over marital property awarded to you in your divorce. What do you do?
In these instances, the answer is you need to bring an enforcement action against the offending party and you need an enforcement action lawyer like our practitioners at The Stout Law Firm, PLLC.
We’ll take care of everything else.
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How to Document Violations
Enforcement actions can have serious consequences for the offending party if the court ultimately finds that a party has violated the terms of its orders. As such, keeping copious records of the violations, including the time, place, and manner in which the order was violated is a useful place to begin.
As a litigant to an enforcement action, you also want to do your best to appear before the court with “clean hands” yourself. This means you need to abide by the terms of the order as written.
Consider the following: your child custody order states you will pick up your children on Friday afternoons at 4:30 at your ex-wife’s house. On Friday morning, she calls you and says the children are not coming as she has taken them to California to visit their grandparents.
Do you still go to her house at 4:30 to pick up your children? The answer to that inquiry is yes, you do.
You are expected to follow the existing order to the letter and you need show that you showed up when you were supposed to and where you were supposed to in order to exercise your period of possession to your children.
This is true even if you know your children won’t be there. It would also be wise to take a picture that is time stamped to prove you were there at the date and time you were supposed to be present.
If you are struggling with a situation wherein your child’s parent is refusing to follow the terms of your court order and you don’t know how to proceed, seeking the guidance of an experienced attorney to help you navigate the process is generally the best course of action.
Our enforcement action attorneys at The Stout Law Firm, PLLC are ready and willing to guide you through the process, from assisting you to building up the proper evidentiary record to support your claims, to filing the enforcement action and ultimately trying it on your behalf. Our seasoned attorneys are here to help.
How to Bring a Motion to Enforce in Texas
An enforcement action also referred to as a Motion to Enforce, is a very intricate, detail oriented pleading which few people know how to draft on their own. Often times it involves quasi-criminal offenses which can lead to jail time for the offending party.
As such, if you fail to strictly comply with the requirements the court will not be in a position to grant the relief you are requesting. For these reasons, you should hire an experienced attorney to assist you like our lawyers at The Stout Law Firm, PLLC.
Punishments for Violating Court Orders
Failing to abide by the terms of a court order can have serious consequences for the offending party. Judges have a range of options for compelling compliance with the terms of their orders, such as:
- Finding the offending party in contempt of court;
- Issuing a fine against the offending party;
- Placing the offending party in jail or on community supervision; and/or
- Forcing the disobeying party to pay the other side’s attorneys’ fees.
Continuing to disobey the judge’s order will generally only increase the severity of the punishment. Consequently, those facing an enforcement action should seek the advice of an attorney quickly.
Defenses to Violations
Sometimes individuals have legitimate reasons they did not follow the terms of a court order. For example, perhaps the parties reached a mutual agreement to vary from the terms of the court order on a pick-up/drop-off location for the children or the order itself is not sufficiently clear.
When this occurs, having an attorney that knows how to assist you in presenting your defense to the court is important to avoid the severe penalties that can result from a properly plead enforcement action. If you have been accused of contempt, then you need a skilled lawyer to defend you, and having an experienced enforcement action attorney by your side will make the process easier.
Contact The Stout Law Firm, PLLC today to help walk you through the process.
The Stout Law Firm Advantage
As experienced family law attorneys, we have represented litigants on both sides of enforcement actions, in Harris County, Ft. Bend County, and Montgomery County, Texas.
This dual perspective gives us a decided advantage in court to pursue or defend against these claims. Our lawyers understand what it takes to properly plead and present an enforcement action and how to attack the same when defending against one.
The important thing to remember if you find yourself dealing with a parent that won’t abide by the terms of an existing court order or a parent that keeps accusing you of violating the terms of an existing court order is that you shouldn’t delay in reaching out to an attorney. Building the proper evidentiary record, or defense as the case may be, can take time.
If you are the one pursuing the enforcement action you need to ensure you have sufficient evidence to support your position that a violation has occurred.
Judges are also skeptical of fraudulent or frivolous motions to enforce and will not be pleased if you make a rash accusation without factual support.
Contact a Houston Enforcement Action Lawyer Today
If your ex-spouse or child’s parent is violating a court order, or if you have been accused of violating an order, we want to hear from you. Judges in Houston, Sugar Land, Katy, The Woodlands, etc., all take these cases seriously and you should too.
Don’t delay in reaching out to a knowledgeable, skilled attorney focused on obtaining a favorable result for you.
For more information, please contact the Stout Law Firm, PLLC online or call 713-980-4300 today to schedule an initial consultation so we can review your particular situation and determine the best course of action for you.
Penalizing Litigants that Fail to Follow Court Orders
Whatever the reason, enforcement actions are inherently frustrating because you are being forced to spend money to compel the opposition to do something that he or she is already obligated to do under the existing court order.
Recognizing this, the Texas legislature has given our courts broad powers when it comes to penalizing litigants that fail to follow the court’s orders.
Specifically, failure to comply with a court order could result in judgments being issued against the defendant, the imposition of hefty fines, lawyer’s fees, and sometimes even jail time.
Seeking to File an Enforcement Action? Contact Us
Enforcement action lawsuits are serious, both for the party seeking relief and the one defending against it. Being represented by a knowledgeable and skilled enforcement action attorney throughout the process is important to ensure your rights are protected.
If you must address family law enforcement action in Houston, contact Angela Stout, an experienced enforcement action attorney, today.
Frequently Asked Questions
Short answer: Yes. Sometimes there are legitimate reasons for violations of an enforcement action. Whatever your violation may be though, it’s important to contact an experienced enforcement action lawyer to figure out your next steps.
An enforcement action lawyer can help by making sure your rights are protected and that you have the necessary legal counsel for your case. If you are looking for an enforcement action lawyer in Houston, contact the Stout Law Firm PLLC today.
Yes, there are many possible violations for violating an enforcement action. If you have violated part of your agreement, or think you have violated part of it, please call the Stout Law Firm PLLC today.
Our skilled attorneys handle other types of cases as well, including: