Contempt and order enforcement for Canton families.
A custody or support order is supposed to settle things, but in Canton, as anywhere, some co-parents simply ignore it. When that happens, a contempt action puts the court back in charge, and we help Cherokee County families enforce the order they already won.
Daniels & Taylor serves Canton families from our office in Lawrenceville.
What most people pay for a case evaluation to learn
Contempt is how you enforce an order that already exists, not how you change it. If
the other person is ignoring your custody, support, or divorce order, you ask the court
to enforce it; to change the order you file a separate modification (O.C.G.A. 19-9-23(b)).
The violation has to be willful. An honest inability to pay is a defense to a support
contempt; the question is whether the other person could comply and chose not to
(O.C.G.A. 19-6-28).
How a Georgia contempt case works
Contempt is how you enforce an existing order when the other person refuses to follow
it. The court can compel compliance, and for a willful refusal it can order jail until
the person complies, a purgeable and coercive remedy, so no one can promise that the
other side will be jailed (O.C.G.A. 19-6-28).
Contempt is filed in the same court that entered the order you are enforcing, the
court that issued your order, not necessarily where either of you lives now. If your order came from the Superior Court of Gwinnett
County, that is where your contempt case belongs; if it came from another county, that
is where it belongs.
If circumstances have genuinely changed, the proper step in Georgia is generally a modification, not contempt, because contempt enforces an existing order rather than changing it (O.C.G.A. 19-9-23(b), 19-9-3), so a parent in Canton whose situation has changed typically files for modification.
A contempt action in Georgia enforces an existing custody order rather than creating new terms (O.C.G.A. 19-9-23(b)), so a parent in Canton uses contempt to hold the other parent to the current custody arrangement.
Contempt also enforces the terms of a Georgia divorce decree, such as support, property, and parenting obligations (O.C.G.A. 19-6-28), so a party in Canton can use contempt to enforce what the divorce ordered.
Common questions about contempt in Canton
Where is a contempt case filed?
A contempt action belongs in the court that entered your original order: if your order came from a particular county’s Superior Court, that is where the contempt is filed, even if you have since moved to another county. We confirm which court that is for you.
Do you handle both unpaid support and ignored custody orders?
Yes, contempt covers missed child support and a co-parent who violates the custody or visitation schedule.
How do I get started?
Call for a free case evaluation and we will review your order and what is being violated.
Put the court back in charge of your order. Call (770) 285-1673 for a free case evaluation.