Enforcement Actions
Once a divorce has been made official, both parties are required to adhere to the decisions made by the court. Unfortunately, it is not rare that legal action must be taken to enforce some of the terms of divorce decrees. Former spouses often do not realize that by not adhering to the judgment, they are in contempt of court, and legal action could be taken against them.
People often struggle with the issues that were contentious in the process of the divorce settlement, and they continue to be sticking points for one or the other ex-spouse, even though the decisions regarding these issues are legally-binding.
Whether you have been accused of violating a court order or if your ex-spouse is refusing to uphold their obligations, Gregory Law PLLC can help. As litigators with more than four decades of combined experience serving families in Houston, we are ready to help protect your rights and look out for your best interests. Schedule a 100% confidential consultation with us by calling (713) 861-1293 or by filling out a contact form to speak with us right away.
Why Do I Need a Lawyer?
Since an enforcement action is a legal procedure, it is not something that you can do yourself. All enforcement actions must be presented to the court for judgments and remedy of all violations, which will require a competent attorney to prepare the actions and then represent your interests in obtaining a judgment from the court.
Additionally, the court will enforce the action through whatever judgment they make with regard to your child support, spousal support, and property divisions. This may require law enforcement and other professional support services to facilitate the action.
Why Choose Gregory Law PLLC?
Enforcement actions mean one of the ex-spouses is not living up to their end of the bargain in the divorce decree. Regardless of why your ex-spouse is not fulfilling what they agreed to and what the court ordered, it is inexcusable, and you can take action.
At Gregory Law PLLC, we have more than 40 years of combined experience with enforcement actions and making sure that you get what you are owed, whether it is unpaid child support, unpaid spousal support, or property that has either not been divided correctly according to the divorce decreed, or has not been divided at all.
We are your advocate in your enforcement action. Our staff has the knowledge to work with you and the court in a straightforward way that will help assure that your enforcement action is successful and you receive what you are entitled to.
Cases We Handle
Three of the most common areas where enforcement actions must be taken are:
Child Support
Non-custodial parents are obligated to provide financial help, called child support, for the care and upbringing of their children, including, but not limited to, food, shelter, clothing, medical care, and educational expenses.
The amount the non-custodial parent must pay on a monthly basis is calculated in one of two ways: either as a percentage of the parent’s net pay, or based on the number of children the parent has with the ex-spouse. Obviously, the more children that are involved, the higher the calculated child support will be.
When the non-custodial parent does not pay the full amount of child support, doesn’t pay child support consistently, or does not pay child support at all, an enforcement action can be brought by your attorney to the court to not only have the non-custodial parent fulfill their legal obligation, but also to have any back child support paid as well.
Many times the court will order the non-custodial parent’s wages to be garnished if they are working. Additionally, liens can be placed on all the non-custodial parent’s assets, all professional and recreational licenses (including a Class C driver’s license that enables a person to drive trucks and heavy machinery) can be suspended until child support is paid, or the non-custodial parent can be arrested and incarcerated for up to six months.
Spousal Support
It is rare that some type of spousal support is not included a divorce. In Texas, there are three types of spousal support.
Temporary spousal support covers a spouse who cannot financially take care of themselves while the divorce is in process. This financial support can either be paid in a lump sum payment or on a monthly basis. It is intended to keep things as normal for the family as possible and to provide for the family’s financial needs during the divorce. The court uses several factors to decided how much and for how long to grant temporary spousal support.
Contractual alimony is the second type of spousal support. This is not court-ordered support, but instead a fixed amount that both spouses agree to as part of their divorce settlement. However, the divorce decree will include this agreement, and it is legally-binding and legally enforceable.
The third type of spousal support is post-divorce court-ordered maintenance. There are very specific and detailed guidelines on who can request this type of spousal support and how and why they can request this type of spousal support. Your attorney will be able to thoroughly discuss this with you if it is applicable to your situation.
Property Divisions
Dividing property, which includes all joint assets, like houses, cars, rental properties, businesses, and professional practices, is often one of the stickiest points of hammering out a divorce agreement. An attorney will make sure to include very specific language as to exactly what should be divided and how it will be divided so that if one ex-spouse refuses to abide by the property divisions detailed in the divorce decree, an enforcement action can be taken against them.
The enforcement actions can include monetary compensation for damages caused by the non-cooperating ex-spouse’s failure to obey the divorce decree, delivery of the property or the cash value of it to the spouse to whom it is owed, judgments for any unpaid property payments that were supposed to make, and incarceration.
Contact Us
Let Gregory Law PLLC assist you with the process of filing an enforcement action for child support, spousal support, or property divisions or let us represent you if your former spouse has accused you of violating an order. Divorce decrees are legally-binding, and enforcement actions ensure that the other spouse does what they agreed to and that you and your children do not have to suffer in the meantime.
We provide family legal services, not only in the greater Houston area, but throughout the entire state of Texas, and we are ready to help you. Since Gregory Law PLLC is bilingual, we are able to provide all of our services in both English and Spanish. We are here to help you, so contact us at (713) 861-1293 or reach out to us online to schedule your consultation with an experienced Houston enforcement action attorney today.
