When Your Elementary School Teacher Said "Listen and Follow Directions" You Should've Paid Attention

My elementary school report card used to have a "Behavior" section on it that had nothing to do with academics. As I recall, the categories were things like "Shows Effort" "Uses Free Time Effectively" "Participates in Class" and the ever-popular (ever-dreaded) "Listens and Follows Directions."  I did a little googling and no kidding, they STILL have that category (or at least Mrs. Walker in Westland, Michigan does).  I was, admittedly, a talker in elementary school (shocking, I know).  And my talking sometimes interfered with my "listening and following directions" skills.  I would bring home straight A's but still dread giving my report card to my parents because I would get "Needs Work" in the "Listening and Following Directions" category.  Devastating to my budding perfectionism as an 8 year old, but I digress.

As more and more clients come through my door, I have found that a LOT of people should have worked a LOT harder at getting at least a "Satisfactory" in the "Listens and Follows Directions" category.  Because now, as adults, it has a lot more consequences than your mom taking away television for two weeks.

In family law cases, when one person does not obey an agreement that has been approved by a judge (thus it is now  magically not just an agreement, but an order of the court) that person is at risk of being found in contempt.  This is not the kind of contempt we see in movies where a lawyer gets thrown in jail for being mouthy to the judge.

What is a "Contempt"?

What I'm referring to is a Complaint for Contempt. It is filed against the person who is supposed to be following an agreement or court order  by the person who is losing out by the deal not being followed.  The most common example of this is unpaid child support.  If a parent does not pay child support that has been ordered (or approved) by the court, then the parent not receiving that support can file a contempt.  The judge then determines whether the non-paying parent has the ability to pay, and if that parent does but is refusing to, then the judge finds the non-paying parent in contempt.  The same goes for following parenting schedules, following through with agreements or orders regarding selling a house, refinancing a mortgage, making spousal support payments, paying tuition, you name it.  If a judge approved your agreement (or just flat-out ordered you to do it) then you better make sure you get a Satisfactory in Listens and Follows Directions.

Consequences

Consequences for being found in contempt are serious.  A judge has equitable powers in a contempt proceeding, which means they don't have just the specific powers laid out in the contempt statute, but they have broad powers to order and change things around in any way they see fair to make the wrong right again.  Layman's terms? This is a LOT of power and you don't want to be the one to test its limits.  Not to mention, a person found in contempt will almost definitely be ordered to pay the other person's attorneys' fees and costs for having to bring the court case. Other potential consequences?  Jail time (and yes, it happens).  Fees, costs, interest and penalties. Reporting to programs through the Department of Probation on a regular basis. Changes in the original agreement or court order, including changes in the amount of support payments and changes to a parenting schedule.  And changes made in contempts are not generally kind to the person found in contempt.

Bottom Line:  Just because you agreed to it, doesn't mean it's flexible.  Agreements in family law that are approved by a judge are court orders.  So make your 3rd grade teacher proud and listen and follow directions.

And if you're reading this and thinking "I have a court order and so-and-so still doesn't follow it," you should definitely find an attorney in your area (Western Massachusetts, here I am!) and start taking steps to bring so-and-so in line.