Post-Divorce Enforcement Attorneys in Knoxville

Making Certain Your Ex Follows Divorce Orders Correctly

Receiving divorce orders from the court after your divorce concludes is one thing. Following those orders to the letter is another thing altogether. Unfortunately, as it is in many cases, bitter or inattentive ex-spouses will fail to follow divorce orders correctly, causing serious frustrations for their former other halves.

At Menefee & Brown, P.C. in Knoxville, we offer post-divorce enforcement representation to divorcees from all walks of life. If your ex-spouse is failing to comply with a divorce order for any reason, whether it is intentional or accidental, we can explore your options to have those orders enforced again by the court. Your best interests become our own when you choose us to act as your legal representatives.

Call (865) 351-2029 today to arrange an initial consultation.

How to Enforce Divorce Orders

In order to enforce your divorce orders, you need to first begin by identifying what provision of the order your ex-spouse is ignoring or failing to complete. It is best to begin our services by allowing our Knoxville post-divorce enforcement lawyers to review and analyze your divorce order. It is possible that your ex-spouse is frustrating you but not necessarily violating an order from the court.

If we can identify a violation of the court’s divorce order, we will next want to gather as much tangible evidence as we can to prove it. For example, if your spouse is not paying your alimony, then a record of your financial statements showing no income provided from their bank account is useful.

Other reasons your ex-spouse might fail to comply with a divorce order are:

• Does not pay enough child support
• Does not allow you to see your child according to child custody rules
• Does not provide your property according to the asset division order

Afterward, we will need to file a motion with the court for further review, assistance, and eventual enforcement. Typically, a family law court can use financial penalties against a noncompliant ex-spouse, assuming that penalizing them this way would not further complicate the issue. When our motion is accepted, your ex-spouse might be summoned to the court for a hearing, during which we can act and argue on your behalf until we get a result that benefits you and your children.

Should You Talk to Your Ex-Spouse First?

You always have the option to talk to your ex-spouse to try to figure out why they are not complying with court orders before you explore official enforcement methods. However, we do not recommend our clients take this path.

When it comes to dealing with an uncooperative ex-spouse, it pays to be official about everything to create a clear paper trail of your actions. If you only talk to them without the oversight of the court, then they can easily deny you ever made an agreement together. Of course, if you divorced your husband or wife because they were abusive, then trying to reason or communicate with them directly could put you in danger. Never do anything that jeopardizes your safety and wellbeing.

Enforcing Child Support Orders in Tennessee

The Tennessee Division of Child Support Services (DCSS) will likely become directly involved in any claim that your ex-spouse is failing to provide child support as directed by the court. Any time the wellbeing of a child is on the line, the government wants to at least oversee what happens and do what it can to help that child. To this end, the DCSS allows harsh penalties to be used against parents who do not pay child support out of negligence or malice.

The enforcement of post-divorce child support orders can result in a number of penalties, such as:

• Wage garnishment: It is possible to put a wage garnishment on your ex-spouse’s regular income or paystubs. The amount of child support they should pay you if they were compliant will be automatically deducted from their paychecks before that amount is transferred to you. Wage garnishments are capped by a percentage of the total paycheck, based on the income bracket or finances of the penalized party.
• Frozen bank account: The court may order that your ex-spouse’s bank accounts be frozen and even seized if they refuse to pay child support without a valid reason. While the bank account is frozen, any income will be halted and could be redirected to you to make up for missing payments.
• Federal tax refund interception: Money owed to your ex-spouse due to a positive federal tax return can be intercepted as well. Federal tax refund interceptions often are not capped as it is not considered part of the regular, necessary income of the filer.
• Professional license revocation: Failing to pay child support payments as required by a court order can also result in an enforcement order that revokes your ex-spouse’s licenses. Driver’s licenses and professional licenses alike can be revoked. In other words, your ex could lose their driving privilege and their career if they try to make your life more difficult by intentionally not paying your monthly child support.

You have your post-divorce enforcement options. Explore them all with our Knoxville attorneys. Call (865) 351-2029.