Getting a court order can feel like the finish line. You finally have a decree or parenting plan that spells out who does what. So it's incredibly frustrating when the other parent or your former spouse simply doesn't follow it. Maybe child support has stopped coming. Maybe the other parent keeps canceling or withholding parenting time. Maybe your ex was ordered to refinance the house or transfer a retirement account and hasn't done it. Whatever the issue, a court order is not a suggestion, and Arizona law gives you ways to enforce it.
First: Don't Take Matters Into Your Own Hands
This is the most important piece of advice I give. If the other parent isn't paying child support, you can't respond by withholding parenting time. If they're not following the parenting schedule, you can't stop paying support. Support and parenting time are separate obligations. Responding to one violation with another puts you at risk of being found in violation yourself, and it can hurt your credibility with the judge.
Start Documenting Everything
Before you go to court, build a clear record. Keep:
A calendar of missed or late exchanges and canceled parenting time
Copies of texts and emails about the issue
Payment records showing what support was paid and when
Any written requests you made asking the other party to comply
Judges respond to specific facts and dates. A well-organized record makes your case stronger and usually makes it move faster.
Enforcing Parenting Time
Under A.R.S. § 25-414, if a parent fails to follow a parenting time order without good cause, the court can order remedies such as:
Make-up parenting time
Parenting classes or counseling
Mediation or other dispute-resolution steps
Payment of the other parent's attorney fees and costs
If violations are serious or ongoing, they may also support a request to modify the parenting plan itself.
Enforcing Child Support
Arizona has strong tools for collecting unpaid child support. Support can be collected through an income withholding order sent directly to the paying parent's employer. Past-due support can also lead to tax refund intercepts, liens, reporting to credit bureaus, and suspension of driver's or professional licenses. The Arizona Division of Child Support Services can help with collection as well. Unpaid support doesn't simply go away. Past-due amounts become a judgment that can be collected over time.
Enforcing Property and Financial Orders
If your ex was ordered to sign a deed, refinance a mortgage, pay a debt, or divide a retirement account and hasn't, you can file a petition asking the court to enforce the decree. The court has a range of options, which may include setting deadlines, ordering a sale, or even appointing someone to sign documents on the non-complying party's behalf.
What Is Contempt of Court?
In more serious cases, you can ask the court to hold the other party in contempt under Rule 92 of the Arizona Rules of Family Law Procedure. Contempt is generally appropriate when the other party knew about the order, had the ability to comply, and willfully chose not to.
If the court finds contempt, it can impose sanctions designed to get the person to comply. That can include fines, attorney fees, and in some cases jail time, with the person usually able to "purge" the contempt by doing what the order requires, such as paying the past-due amount.
Can I Get My Attorney Fees Back?
Possibly. Under A.R.S. § 25-324, the court can consider the reasonableness of each side's positions when deciding whether to award fees. A party who forces the other to go to court just to get an existing order followed may be ordered to pay those costs.
Getting Things Back on Track
Enforcement cases can feel like reliving the original case, and that's exhausting. My goal is to resolve the problem efficiently, whether that means a firm letter, a negotiated fix, or a petition to the court.
