A court order that nobody enforces is just paper. Contempt is the mechanism Florida family courts use to put weight behind an order, and it works differently for money than it does for timesharing. Knowing which motion to file, and what you have to prove, decides whether you get a remedy or a lecture.
Civil contempt versus criminal contempt
Civil contempt is the ordinary tool in family court. Its purpose is to make someone comply, not to punish. That is why a civil contempt sanction always includes a purge, something the person can do to end the sanction immediately.
Criminal contempt punishes past conduct that defied the court's authority. It carries a fixed sentence with no purge, requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt, and comes with far more procedural protection. It is rare in family cases.
What you have to prove
A contempt case has a simple structure. The moving party must show that a valid court order existed, that its terms were clear enough to be understood, and that the other party failed to comply.
For unpaid support, that showing creates a presumption of ability to pay. The burden then shifts to the non-paying parent to prove they lacked the ability to comply. Inability to pay is a defense; unwillingness is not.
Child support contempt and the purge
If the court finds willful noncompliance with a support order, its options are broad: entry of a judgment for the arrears, income deduction, suspension of a driver's license or professional license, interception of tax refunds, an award of attorney fees, and in serious cases incarceration with a purge amount.
The purge is the key protection. A court must make a finding that the person has the present ability to pay the purge amount, and that finding has to rest on evidence, not assumption. An order jailing a parent without a supportable purge finding does not survive review.
Timesharing violations use different remedies
Section 61.13(4)(c) gives courts a specific menu when a parent refuses to honor the schedule without proper cause. Judges usually start with the remedies that restore what was lost rather than with jail:
- Make-up timesharing, awarded on a comparable basis to what was missed
- An order that the offending parent pay the other's court costs and attorney fees
- A requirement to attend a parenting course, or to complete community service
- A modification of the parenting plan, if the pattern justifies it
- An order that the offending parent post a bond or other security
- In an appropriate case, a finding of contempt with the usual sanctions
Filing it properly
In a support case, a motion for civil contempt has to give notice that meets Family Law Rule 12.615. It must recite that the failure to comply may result in incarceration and, where the case involves support, that the person has the right to attend the hearing and to be represented by counsel.
The motion should attach the order allegedly violated, state the specific provisions at issue, and lay out dates and amounts. Vague motions get continued, and every continuance costs another month.
Defending a contempt motion
The strongest defense is that compliance was impossible, not merely inconvenient, and that the inability was not self-created. A parent who lost a job through no fault of their own, documented the loss, and filed a modification petition promptly is in a far better position than one who simply stopped paying and waited.
For timesharing, proper cause is the defense the statute names. A genuine medical emergency or a documented safety concern can qualify. Disliking the other parent's household rules does not.
Questions about your own case?
Yvette B. Reyes, Esq. offers a free first consultation, in English or Spanish, for families across South Florida and the Treasure Coast.
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This article is general information about Florida law, not legal advice about your situation, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Florida law changes, and every case turns on its own facts. Full disclaimer.