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Your divorce proceedings may have ended some time ago, but issues with your ex-spouse may still arise. Whether your problem concerns alimony payments, child custody, child support, or any other issue requiring legal action, contact a Chattanooga post-divorce disputes lawyer. A dedicated divorce attorney could provide services that help you modify or enforce an existing order.
Legal professionals who frequently work on post-divorce dispute cases understand that emotions can run high, potentially causing angry reactions and hasty decisions. Your counsel could help you take control by reviewing your options in detail and determining what steps could resolve your dispute as quickly as possible.
Attorneys in Chattanooga could help ex-spouses take post-divorce actions against their former partners for many reasons, including:
Non-custodial parents may also need legal assistance to modify existing child support orders due to issues such as decreased income or unemployment. The custodial parent may also request modifications due to their child’s disability or another serious health issue, or because the non-custodial parent’s income has increased thanks to an inheritance, new job, or lottery winnings.
When an ex-spouse fails to comply with the divorce decree in Chattanooga, such as by missing alimony or child support payments, the wronged party typically files a Contempt Petition with the help of a post-divorce disputes attorney. The process starts by sending a letter to the offending party requesting their compliance. Should the former spouse continue to defy the court order, the other party’s attorney would request a court hearing.
The ex-spouse may claim financial hardship such as ongoing unemployment as grounds for order modification. However, if the other spouse can prove that missed payments were intentional, the court will likely deny requests to modify the existing order. For the court to approve modifications, the ex must show significant variance, such a 15 percent decrease in monthly income.
Ex-spouses who continually refuse to make alimony or child support payments despite the fact that the other party has not remarried and the children remain underage, respectively, face court penalties. Common penalties include wage garnishment, property and asset seizures, intercepted tax returns, property liens, driver’s license revocation, passport denial, and fines and jail time for being held in contempt of court.
Spouses who receive alimony or child support can also request an Income Withholding Order with the court to obtain their payments. An Income Withholding Order takes a portion of the ex’s income for distribution to the spouse receiving financial support.
No matter why you need to modify or dispute a divorce order, contact a legal professional. A Chattanooga post-divorce disputes lawyer provides the guidance and assistance that makes navigating these often-delicate issues significantly easier. A legal professional could work to ensure the matter gets handled efficiently and adheres to any new divorce guidelines to hopefully eliminate future disputes. Do not let a post-divorce issue worsen and possibly result in serious financial consequences. Call right away to get more information about your legal options.