Motions to Enforce & Motions for Contempt in Maine

Oftentimes, after the Court has issued a final order or judgment in a divorce or child-related matter, one of the parties will fail to perform as ordered.  For example, one party may fail to adhere to parent-child visitation and schedules, pay child support, pay spousal support, or sell certain property.  This may require you to return to Court to enforce the underlying order and require the other party to perform certain actions.

Your Family Law Trial Lawyer will help you determine whether you should file a Motion to Enforce or a Motion for Contempt with the Court.

Motion to Enforce

In a Motion for Enforce, you are requesting the Court to enforce its prior Judgment or Order. Your Family Law Trial Lawyer will draft and file a Motion to the Court, outlining the date of the Court’s Judgment or Order and how the other party is failing or refusing to obey that Judgment or Order. 

Your Trial Lawyer may ask the Court to ask to do the following:

• Order the offending party to permanently stop disobeying the Judgment or Order
• Order the offending party to obey or comply with the Judgment or Order by requiring the offending party to do certain things
• Pay your costs for having to file the Motion to Enforce
• Pay your attorney’s fees for representing you during the Motion to Enforce process

Motion for Contempt

In a Motion for Contempt, you are requesting that the Court find that the opposing party is in contempt of a prior Judgment or Order and that such contempt of Court necessitates further Court involvement, including possibly ordering remedial sanctions against the offending party.  A Family Law Trial Lawyer will draft and file a Motion for Contempt, outlining how the other party is failing or refusing to obey the Court’s prior Judgment or Order. 

Your Trial Lawyer may ask the Court to do the following:

• Order the offending party to permanently stop such contempt
• Order the offending party to obey and comply with the Judgment or Order
• Order appropriate remedial sanctions
• Pay our costs for having to file the Motion for Contempt
• Pay your attorney’s fees to represent you during the Motion for Contempt process

Depending on the circumstances, the Court may impose remedial sanctions on a person found to be in contempt. Remedial sanctions may include the following:

• Coercive Imprisonment: A person found in contempt may be committed to the county jail until that person performs the affirmative act required by the Court’s Order.
• Coercive Fine: A person found in contempt may be assessed a specific fine unless that person performs an affirmative act required by the Court’s Order or for each day that that person fails to perform an affirmative act or continues to do an act prohibited by the Court’s Order.
• Compensatory Fine: The Court may, in addition to Coercive Imprisonment and Coercive Fines, may require that the person found to be in contempt pay the aggrieved person a sum of money sufficient to indemnify the aggrieved party and satisfy all costs and disbursements.