One of our Dummit Fradin family law attorneys recently won two Contempt hearings against the same father – one in custody court and one in child support court.
Child Support Contempt Hearing
In the child support matter, [the attorney] won the Show Cause Motion by showing that the father had not paid any of the ordered child support while having the ability to pay it. Additionally, she asked the court to use his “bad faith” behavior at a past high-earning job to impute his income for calculating child support.
[The attorney] submitted evidence to show the father had acted in a manner that would foreseeably result in his termination from employment, and embezzlement. Indeed, he was fired from the lucrative job. When he got a new job, it paid significantly less. His entirely predictable demotion showed that he acted with conscious disregard for his obligation to support his child. Our family attorney asked the Judge to consider precedent from the North Carolina Court of Appeals cases Wolf (2002) and Metz (2011), in order to raise his required child support payments to what he would be paying, had he kept the higher-earning job. The Judge raised the amount of monthly child support owed per our attorney’s request and issued an order for his arrest.
Child Custody Contempt Hearing
In the child custody matter, [the attorney] won the Show Cause Motion by showing that the father was in violation of the custody order in many different ways. He was required by the custody order to submit monthly drug tests to the mother of his child because of his history of drug use. He stopped submitting the drug tests and still refused even after our attorney sent him a letter demanding that he comply.
Additionally, he was driving the minor child without a valid driver’s license. He was also not dressing the child appropriately for school during cold winter weather. The Judge ordered the father to be in contempt of the custody order and suspended his visitation with the minor child. The young child is now safe with her mother until the father makes efforts to clean up his act and become a more responsible parent.
Meet with a Dummit Fradin Family Law Attorney
Our family law attorneys have experience in a variety of sensitive family matters. Whether you need to file for divorce or settle a child custody dispute, our family lawyers are here for you. We have 3 offices throughout the Piedmont Triad in Winston-Salem, Greensboro, and High Point. Contact us today to get started.