Legal Question in Family Law in Mississippi

Re: Non payment of child support

It is more properly called a motion for contempt, and it asks the court to find the person to be in contempt because she failed to obey the court's orders in the judgement of divorce. If the contempt was wilful and contumacious, the court will order the person to be placed in jail until she purges herself of contempt and at the same time the court defers on the jailing provided the payment is made on time and orders the person to reimburse the injured parties's attorney fees. If not, a bench warrant is issued for arrest of the individual. It can become quite expensive and nerve racking for the contemptor. If the contempt is not wilful and contumacious, the injured party will be given a judgement that can be collected just like any other judgment. Frequently people use the services of the Miss. Department of Human Services for such matters because it costs $25. Otherwise, they use the services of an attorney. The drawback with the Department of Human Services is that they usually have a huge backlog of cases. It seems that if the person is in wilful and contumacious contempt or if you cannot wait for the Department of Human Services, retaining your own attorney would be the better course.

Re: Non payment of child support

The way to enforce what the judge says is to file a motion of contempt. This will get the person back in front of the judge to explain why they are not doing what the judge told them to do. You can also be awarded attorney fees on top of it all.