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Contempt of court orders

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1

14gamess

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CA
Hi, I am the CP of a 14 year old and his father owes me $34,000 in back support. According to DCSS they have submitted to have his drivers license suspended as well as attaching any bank accounts he may have, to no avail. He has not paid any support in over 6 months and payments have been sporadic prior to that.

My question is, what is the process for filing "contempt of court?" Is this something that I need to do, or will DCSS do it on my behalf? Is it a difficult process? This is in Contra Costa County in Calif. Do I need to appear in court? I recently got a new job, so I would rather not ask for time off if possible.

Thank you for your help and advice.
 


M

mistoffolees

Senior Member
DCSS will handle it for you. They're a little slow, but they know what they're doing and odds are that if the money can be collected that they'll eventually get it since they have access to some resources that you don't.

I would talk with your contact at DCSS and ask them if they think it would be helpful for you to file your own contempt case. If they do, they can steer you in the right direction or look for the self-help section of CA's court web site (someone here will probably provide it if you can't find it).

In any event, since DCSS is involved, they're your best friend right now. Work with them as much as you can and ask their advice before taking any action to collect.
 
1

14gamess

Junior Member
Thank you for your response. I emailed my county child support office last night and the response I received this morning stated that they no longer file for contempt and that I would have to do it myself.

If I decide to go ahead with it, will I need an attorney? Also, I do not know where the NCP lives, since he has not contacted us in many years. Is DCSS required to disclose his address since they will not do the action on my behalf?

Thank you for your advice
 
LdiJ

LdiJ

Senior Member
14gamess said:
Thank you for your response. I emailed my county child support office last night and the response I received this morning stated that they no longer file for contempt and that I would have to do it myself.

If I decide to go ahead with it, will I need an attorney? Also, I do not know where the NCP lives, since he has not contacted us in many years. Is DCSS required to disclose his address since they will not do the action on my behalf?

Thank you for your advice
Click to expand...
That's odd. Their whole purpose is to enforce child support orders and if they won't handle contempt, then they aren't taking all steps to enforce the orders. I wonder if this has anything to do with CA's current financial crisis?
 
M

mistoffolees

Senior Member
It's rather odd that CSE won't file for contempt. I don't understand that.

Anyway, you can file for contempt on your own. An attorney will make it easier, but it's not required.

If you do have to get an attorney, you can ask for ex to reimburse you for the cost. Whether you'd actually get that money back depends on the particular judge involved. Even if you don't get reimbursed, getting an attorney to file a contempt action is not likely to be too expensive since it's pretty straightforward.

In order to file without an attorney, contact your court clerk for the proper documents. Read up on the procedures required in your county (they may have an online help section or you may need to do a little research).

As for the address, you can ask CSE for it, but I don't know if they have to give it to you or not. If they don't, then you should try other methods of getting the information (sending certified mail the the last address requesting address corrections, etc). If that fails, you might be able to subpoena the information from CSE, but I don't know if that would work or not.
 
M

Mom_of_Two

Member
I live in CA and also had an ex in arrears. They said they could not give me any of his information, and they also never filed contempt charges. They did, ultimately, get the arrears through his tax refunds, savings accounts and garnished wages. It took time, but Ld is right, they are your best friend right now!
 
1

14gamess

Junior Member
I emailed back to DCSS to find out why they no longer file contempt orders and this was their response...

"We don't file orders of contempt because unless you can provide us with proof of an enormous amount of assets and an elaborate lifestyle, on the part of the NCP, the penalty is minimal, if at all. You can contact the courts regarding filing for contempt at 925-957-7866 and they can also instruct you on service of the filing to the NCP. You will have to appear in court."

I'm guessing that this is likely fueled by the massive budget cuts in California. But I did get some good news, DCSS called this morning and left me a message that they did locate a new employer for the NCP and will be attaching his wages shortly, so it looks like the contempt filing will be necessary, at least for now.

Thank you for all of your help, as always! :)
 
T

torimac

Member
Not legal advice, but anecdotal....

I used to live in CCC. My ex also has thousands of dollars in arrears. The county says they have tried to revoke his driver's license, but he lives in another state and they need to work with that state to accomplish it. He did not file for taxes, so his tax returns were not taken. They were able to seize some money from his bank account about 1.5 years ago. The said they would handle the contempt, but time started to run out.

I finally filed for contempt myself, with a lawyer. I am very glad that I have a lawyer, even with the expense. According to my research, you can only file for contempt for the past three years. Every month that the court order is disobeyed is one count of contempt. As my order contains an amount to be paid for child support and a seperate amount to be paid for child care, every month without payment is two counts of child support. So, when I filed, he was charged with somewhere around 57 counts of contempt.

I am still fighting this, due to delays. My lawyer filed in October of 2009. It was initially heard in family court and them moved to another court. My ex missed two court dates. The judge ordered him to look for work and that took time.

CCC may very well be able to file for you, but CA is extremely strapped for cash. Filing and going to court are costs that the department may not have money for. I would advise you keep track of the time so you do not loose the ability to file yourself. Also, think of the cost. If your ex is really not capable of earning money to pay, do you want to accrue the cost of a lawyer? Yes, you can ask the courts for your ex to pay. I have done so many times. I have yet to be awarded lawyers fees. So, don't count on recouping the costs.
 
S

stacygeorgia

Member
Im in California and DCSS actually to my ex to court today for contempt on non payment, so im not sure why they can't do it for your case.
 
C

CourtClerk

Senior Member
stacygeorgia said:
Im in California and DCSS actually to my ex to court today for contempt on non payment, so im not sure why they can't do it for your case.
Click to expand...
There are 58 counties in CA... care to narrow it down? Just because YOUR county has a policy to work one way doesn't mean a smaller county with a smaller staff will. This isn't Iowa.
 
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