Can a Family Court Settlement Agreement Be Challenged Before Divorce Becomes Final
In 2020, it was estimated that 39% of marriages ended in divorce. If yous are someone who went through divorce, you may be struggling with a spouse who fails to abide by your marital settlement agreement. They may fail to make payments for alimony, for example, or they may fail to pay their part of the marital debts. They may non honor custody agreements or try to deny you parenting time with your children.
When this happens, information technology can be helpful to have a family law attorney in your corner to help you determine what you tin do. In some cases, you may be able to work it out with your ex without going to court, but in others, you may end upwards needing to bring your case before a judge.
A Marital Settlement Understanding Becomes the Footing for the Courtroom Order
The end product of the divorce is a series of agreements between the sometime spouses that are signed by each party. This is the marital settlement agreement, and it is ultimately a part of a court gild that each party must strictly follow. The divorce understanding is a legal contract between 2 parties that has the force of the courtroom behind information technology. There are consequences for not post-obit this agreement.
Consult With a Family Lawyer Almost What Can Be Done
What happens when a spouse is not following the marital settlement agreement depends on what the conduct is and when it happens. If you and your estranged spouse take agreed to a settlement but the divorce has non yet been finalized, yous should showtime consult with your family police attorney. It may require renegotiating the terms of the agreement before the divorce becomes terminal.
When it seems unlikely that one party will follow the divorce understanding, it may not make sense to sign it as is. Even if information technology costs fourth dimension and money, yous need to brand certain that you protect yourself. Once a divorce agreement is finalized and becomes function of a court order, it is difficult to change.
Endeavour to Act every bit Function of a Strategy
A bigger challenge comes when the divorce is finalized and your onetime spouse is not following the agreement. This is a difficult situation that must be worked out considering your rights are at stake, and yous should immediately consult with your divorce attorney to figure out how to continue. Ane thing that your lawyer will likely tell yous is that you lot demand to act very deliberately. This means that yous will need a multipart strategy to deal with the problem.
Even still, it is best to avert court when the agreement is not being followed. Going to the judge should be a last resort unless at that place is an emergency state of affairs that needs to be addressed immediately.
Certificate the Noncompliance
Your family lawyer will tell you that you need to document every situation carefully. Eventually, you may need a record of each violation to evidence a pattern of behavior. Documenting violations can include a number of things, such as:
- Taking pictures when you are able to
- Taking screenshots of texts and social media content
- Sending an e-mail to memorialize your concerns
- Keeping all relevant records
Try Talking With Your Ex-Spouse First
All the while, y'all need to raise your concerns with your ex-spouse to let them know that they are violating the agreement. Perhaps they did not realize that at that place was a problem with what they did, or they may exist trying to run into what they can get away with in terms of beliefs.
Either style, yous practice non lose anything by trying to take a conversation virtually the state of affairs. The best dispute is one that is avoided, and some communication tin become a long style. While it is non necessarily your obligation to set up their lack of compliance, yous may demand to show later on on that you lot tried to address the situation with your ex-spouse. Many times, the problem results from a misunderstanding that can be resolved with a conversation.
If the beliefs persists and y'all are unable to resolve it amidst yourselves, you lot have legal options available to you. These both involve the court, so it is all-time to get down these roads only if all other options have failed.
You lot Tin can Seek a Modification of the Agreement in Courtroom
Assuming the divorce is concluding, your divorce attorney may suggest y'all to brand a legal filing seeking a modification of the agreement. Usually, in order to become a court-ordered change to an already-signed agreement, you would need to show that there were inverse circumstances. One thing that could persuade the court is proof that the other party is not following the agreement as ordered past the courtroom. This could help protect you in the future in the outcome that some other breach occurs.
Contempt of Courtroom Is a Desperate Choice
The most drastic choice if one party is breaching the marital settlement agreement is to file for contempt of the court. This is drastic because contempt of court can be a criminal charge. The punishment for this might fifty-fifty include jail time if the criminal offense is serious enough. If you file a contempt of court action, it will send a serious bulletin to the other party that you volition not tolerate their failure to follow the agreement.
Before you go into court on a contempt charge, talk to your divorce lawyer to go their opinion whether the ex-spouse's conduct is serious enough to support the charge. For example, if they are v minutes tardily to selection up the children, the gauge would probable non grant a motion for contempt of court. However, if they do not requite you your custody time or are refusing to transfer property required by the marital settlement agreement, this might be enough for the court to observe someone in contempt.
What Happens If My Ex Is Found to Be in Antipathy of Court?
If your ex-spouse is found to be in contempt of court, what happens adjacent depends on the part of the agreement they are breaking. If, for instance, your ex-spouse has defied orders for back up payments, the courtroom may have their wages garnished or put a lien on their property. If they fail to allow you parenting time, you may be granted additional parenting fourth dimension to make up for it or the divorce agreement may exist modified to ensure compliance. In sure cases, the other parent can lose their rights entirely or may face criminal charges.
If you have any concerns about postal service-divorce bug, including failure to follow the divorce order, contact Jeralyn Lawrence or another family police force attorney at Lawrence Law at (908) 645-1000. Our Watchung and Red Bank divorce lawyers can speak with you over the phone or meet you online.
Source: https://lawlawfirm.com/what-happens-when-an-ex-spouse-breaks-the-marital-settlement-agreement/
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