The DOR Can Enforce a Child Support Order By Contempt

What happens if DOR files a Complaint for Contempt against a parent for failure to pay child support?

If a parent has been ordered to pay child support and has failed to pay the childsupport which was ordered, the DOR can file a contempt case against that parent.

DOR files a Complaint for Contempt at the court where the child support order was issued. You are served a copy of the Complaint for Contempt and another paper called the Summons. Usually a deputy sheriff or Constable hands you these papers in person. The Summons tells you on what date you are supposed to go into Court for the contempt hearing.

If you do not show up in court on the day of the contempt hearing, the judge may issue an civil arrest warrant called a "capias." A capias warrant is not the same as a criminal arrest warrant. With a criminal warrant, you are taken into custody because you are a suspect in a crime, and once you have been arrested, you often have to stay in jail until you can pay bail or have a trial. The purpose of the capias warrant, however, is to get you into court for the contempt hearing. With a capias, a deputy sheriff or a constable can arrest you and bring you to court for a hearing about the contempt case. If you go to court when the contempt hearing is scheduled, a capias warrant will not be issued.

What can happen at a contempt hearing?