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Divorce Enforcment

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graybeard1952

Member
What is the name of your state? Texas
Hello, New to this forum and I was wondering how one would go about enforcing the visitation and conduct aspects of a divorce. My X wife has only supervised visitation for our 2 daughters. She is permanently enjoined from coming within 200 ft of our house or calling me for any other reason except to arrange visitation. The divorce was final in Nov 2002 and she has yet to sign up for the visitation program and is currently $8400.00 behind in child support and health ins payments. She has ignored every court order in the final decree and now has an “attorney” calling me at home threatening to file contempt charges against me because I won’t let her visit the children under her terms. She has substance abuse issues and her judgments cannot be trusted. How do I get her off my back, It’s not about me, it’s about my kids and I don’t want them to have to relive those awful days of a very nasty divorce.
 


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Atty-Calif001

Junior Member
graybeard1952 said:
What is the name of your state? Texas
Hello, New to this forum and I was wondering how one would go about enforcing the visitation and conduct aspects of a divorce. My X wife has only supervised visitation for our 2 daughters. She is permanently enjoined from coming within 200 ft of our house or calling me for any other reason except to arrange visitation. The divorce was final in Nov 2002 and she has yet to sign up for the visitation program and is currently $8400.00 behind in child support and health ins payments. She has ignored every court order in the final decree and now has an “attorney” calling me at home threatening to file contempt charges against me because I won’t let her visit the children under her terms. She has substance abuse issues and her judgments cannot be trusted. How do I get her off my back, It’s not about me, it’s about my kids and I don’t want them to have to relive those awful days of a very nasty divorce.
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My response:

"How do I get her off my back" is not a legal question. Be specific about your question, and what you want to accomplish; e.g., do you want her to have visitation or not? Do you want the money, or not? Do you want the attorney to contact you or not?

What is it that you're asking?

IAAL
 
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graybeard1952

Member
I want the back child support, I don’t want her attorney contacting me, or her contacting me except when she needs to discuss visitation, as per the final decree. I will abide by the court ordered supervised visitation through the S.A.F.E. program setup by Harris county Texas. I simply wish for her to abide by the final divorce decree.
Do I need an attorney to file contempt charges against her?
 
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Inquiry123

Member
Suggestions...

It sounds like you want to operate within the bounds of the court order -- that should not create a problem for you. Stick to your guns (dramatic use of language for TX intended for TX posters only.)

It may be a worthwhile idea to send her att'y a copy of the visitation and support orders along with your brief review of the items mentioned in your post. Sometimes a client will not give their att'y the whole story, so, a POLITE summary might help. Remember, whatever you write might fall into the hands of a judge someday. Stay away from Mom's issues (substance abuse) and stick to the items addressed in the court order. Or hire an att'y to handle this communication for you.

Require that any further communication from her att'y be in writing to you (or your att'y.)

You can seek to have the support order enforced -- you can do it yourself, hire an att'y, or seek assistance from the TX Attorney General's Office of Child Support Enforcement. Good luck.
 
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ceara19

Senior Member
graybeard1952 said:
I want the back child support, I don’t want her attorney contacting me, or her contacting me except when she needs to discuss visitation, as per the final decree. I will abide by the court ordered supervised visitation through the S.A.F.E. program setup by Harris county Texas. I simply wish for her to abide by the final divorce decree.
Do I need an attorney to file contempt charges against her?
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Turn on your PM's. What county are you in and what county issued the order?
 
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graybeard1952

Member
If the NCP files contempt charges against the CP, will the courts reference the final divorce decree, as part of a discovery process, prior to proceeding with the contempt charges?

Will I be notified if she files?

Should I file a police report for telephone calls that violate the CO?

Can I ask for attorney fees, should the charges are deemed unfounded?

Back child support is currently in the legal stage, nothing has happened for 6 months.
When the case finally goes to court, can I motion for contempt of the CO for matters not related to child support during this process?
 
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weenor

Senior Member
graybeard1952 said:
If the NCP files contempt charges against the CP, will the courts reference the final divorce decree, as part of a discovery process, prior to proceeding with the contempt charges?

Don't know what you are asking here

Will I be notified if she files?

Yes, you should receive notice of a hearing, unless she's got some evidence of you doing something really bad.

Should I file a police report for telephone calls that violate the CO?

Just contemporaniously document violations unless she does something tantamount to "telephone harassment" under the criminal statutues of your state. If you have evidence of harassment then report it to the police.

Can I ask for attorney fees, should the charges are deemed unfounded?

Sure

Back child support is currently in the legal stage, nothing has happened for 6 months.

What does that mean?

When the case finally goes to court, can I motion for contempt of the CO for matters not related to child support during this process?
Click to expand...
Your best chance of success is to bring any contempt motions to the court prior to the hearing. If you do not, the court can reserve the right to set those contempt proceedings for another date.
 
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ceara19

Senior Member
graybeard1952 said:
If the NCP files contempt charges against the CP, will the courts reference the final divorce decree, as part of a discovery process, prior to proceeding with the contempt charges?

Will I be notified if she files?
Click to expand...
Yes

Should I file a police report for telephone calls that violate the CO?
Click to expand...
What exactly do you mean by this? A better solution would be to deal directly with your phone company. You can have incoming calls traced and logged. Also, since you are in Texas, record the calls. It is best to not even answer. Get an answering machine that actually records the messages on a tape and let it pick up all of her calls whenever possible.
Can I ask for attorney fees, should the charges are deemed unfounded?
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Yes. Since your CO was issued in Texas, there is probably already a stipulation in the final order that says something those lines. Check the last few pages of the order. It should be included in the section that covers the punishment for violating the order.

Back child support is currently in the legal stage, nothing has happened for 6 months.
When the case finally goes to court, can I motion for contempt of the CO for matters not related to child support during this process?
Click to expand...
You need to file BEFORE going to court if you want the matter heard at the same time. Even if the issues aren't directly related to each other, they can be dealt with concurrently IF all of the motions are filed in time to give proper notice to all parties. If you file the day you go to court, the other party will be given time to prepare their defense.
 
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ceara19

Senior Member
weenor said:
Your best chance of success is to bring any contempt motions to the court prior to the hearing. If you do not, the court can reserve the right to set those contempt proceedings for another date.
Click to expand...
You're fast!

BTW - The term "your child support order is currently in the legal process" is a term used by the OAG. It basically means that they have been given the case but they have not actually done anything with it yet. The Texas OAG isn't exactly known for their efficiency. The next step will be a review of the order, modification if necessary and enforcement of the order. But that could take another 6 months or more. The best way to get the ball rolling is to hound the OAG. Otherwise, the case tends to get buried and they forget about it.
 
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graybeard1952

Member
If the NCP files contempt charges against the CP, will the courts reference the final divorce decree, as part of a discovery process, prior to proceeding with the contempt charges?

Don't know what you are asking here
She claims I am in violation of the visitation orders, which I am not. Her visitation is “only through the S.A.F.E. program”, which is supervised visitation at a state facility.
Will the judge/courts, refer to the final decree before they determine whether her claims are legitimate ?

Back child support is currently in the legal stage, nothing has happened for 6 months.

What does that mean?
The following is the notice I received:

Your case is currently in the legal process. The Child Support Division will determine the legal action to take in order to establish or enforce an order for support. All parties will be notified by mail of any court hearing dates and times. When you come to court, you can expect a busy courtroom, and considerable waiting time. Please help us in court by getting there on time and staying in court until the case is heard. Parents are advised not to bring children to the proceedings since the courtroom lack facilities for children. The Office of the Attorney General will provide child support services, but attorney general employees do not represent you or any other individual. Should you choose to hire an attorney, the attorney is expected to work in cooperation with the Office of the Attorney General. Remember, what happens in court is up to the discretion of the judge.
 
W

weenor

Senior Member
graybeard1952 said:
She claims I am in violation of the visitation orders, which I am not. Her visitation is _only through the S.A.F.E. program_, which is supervised visitation at a state facility.
Will the judge/courts, refer to the final decree before they determine whether her claims are legitimate ?

Of course, as well as your contention that she has failed to cooperate with the visitation process. However, do not expect the court to just dismiss her allegations without hearing from both of you.

Your case is currently in the legal process. The Child Support Division will determine the legal action to take in order to establish or enforce an order for support. All parties will be notified by mail of any court hearing dates and times.


So it appears that you have gone through the AG to enforce child support. Have filed for contempt in front of the judge issuing the last order? While it may cost you for an attorney, the process is much quicker. Just be prepared for her to counter in her answer to your petition with the visitation interference thing. Ask for attorneys' fees because her failure to pay child support is the reason you had to file.
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graybeard1952

Member
I apologize for asking all these questions, and thank all of you for your advice.
I am very insecure when it comes to the legal aspects of custody. I get brain fade every time she calls and starts threatening me. I guess I need some reassurance.
I only want what is best for my children and sadly their mother scares them with drunken late night visits and her history of destroying our property. I just wish it would all go away, I thought I had fought this battle 4 years and $12,000 ago.
 
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