In contempt and post-judgment matters where financial exposure, reputations, and court compliance are all on the line.
Contempt of court means a person has willfully failed or refused to follow a court order. In Florida, contempt falls into two categories, civil and criminal, and which one applies to your case changes everything: the procedure, the standard of proof, the penalties, and how your attorney builds the response.
Criminal contempt is punitive. It applies when someone deliberately defies the authority of the court, repeated violations, flagrant non-compliance, or conduct that undermines the judicial process itself. Unlike civil contempt, completing the required action after the fact does not undo the finding.
Family Court Contempt
Non-payment of court-ordered alimony or spousal support, missed or withheld child support payments, violations of custody and timesharing orders, failure to produce financial disclosures during or after divorce proceedings, and non-compliance with property division orders are all handled by the firm across Broward County and South Florida.
Post-Judgment and Civil Contempt
Failure to comply with a civil judgment or settlement agreement, non-compliance with financial orders in commercial or business disputes, contempt in real estate matters involving failure to execute documents or transfer title, and enforcement of injunctions and restraining orders.
Criminal and Indirect Contempt
Deliberate and repeated defiance of court orders, violations of no-contact orders, conduct during or related to pending criminal proceedings, and defense against criminal contempt charges filed in conjunction with family or civil matters.
The focus is on positioning cases strategically, protecting clients’ interests, and pursuing the strongest possible outcome under Florida law, not moving files through a system.
The other party may file a motion for contempt with the court that issued the original order. If the court finds the violation was willful, it may impose a purge amount, order attorney’s fees, modify the existing order, or in serious cases, order incarceration. Documentation of the violation is critical, and an attorney can help you build a strong record before the hearing.
Yes. A Florida court may order incarceration for civil contempt when a person has the ability to comply but refuses, and for criminal contempt when the defiance is deliberate. In civil cases, the court sets a purge amount, once satisfied, release may follow. Criminal contempt operates differently and does not end simply by coming into compliance.
A purge amount is the specific payment or action the court requires to clear a civil contempt finding. Once completed, the court may release the person from any incarceration order tied to the finding. It is the court’s tool for compelling compliance, not punishing past behavior. The amount is set by the judge at the contempt hearing.
Civil contempt is designed to compel compliance, it ends when the person follows the order. Criminal contempt is punitive and addresses deliberate defiance of the court’s authority. The standard of proof, procedural requirements, and penalties differ significantly. Civil contempt is far more common in family law. Criminal contempt carries more serious long-term consequences.
A motion for contempt is filed with the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit Court in Fort Lauderdale. It must identify the exact order violated, document the violation in detail, and state the relief requested. A poorly drafted motion is easy to challenge and slow to schedule, an attorney ensures the motion is procedurally correct and sets up a strong hearing position from the start.
It may. A contempt finding in a custody matter can result in makeup timesharing for the non-offending parent, modification of the parenting plan, and attorney’s fees awarded against the offending party. Repeated findings may also be used as evidence in future custody modification hearings. Florida courts take willful violations of custody orders seriously.
The most common defense to civil contempt is inability to comply, the law distinguishes between a person who will not pay and one who genuinely cannot. Other defenses include procedural defects in how the motion was filed or served, ambiguity in the underlying order, and good-faith efforts to comply. A criminal contempt defense requires showing the alleged conduct was not willful or that the proper procedural protections were not followed.
Faster than most people expect. Once a motion for contempt is filed, hearing dates can be set within weeks. If you are the respondent, you may have very little time between receiving the motion and appearing in court. Securing legal representation immediately after a motion is filed, or before one is filed against you, gives your attorney the time needed to build a proper defense or enforcement strategy.
