We are often faced with situations where the other side violates a court order. Most people think that the violator should be punished, and they should. However, the reality of the court system is that they are overworked, underpaid and carry huge dockets. They cannot devote the type of time to cases that they should therefore, many court order violations are swept under the rug.
This frustrates many parties. Rightfully so, however, understand this is a natural part of the process. If a court order is violated the first question to ask yourself is whether this amounts to a minor or major offense. If this is the first time the other side shows up late for a custody exchange and are 10 minutes late, does it really make sense to try and hold that person accountable? On the other hand, if every single time the person is 10 minutes late and there is a history of passive aggressive conduct, then it might make sense to bring the matter to the court’s attention.
The reality is that very rarely are court orders always followed. To assess whether it makes sense to do something about the violation depends on where you are at in the process, how well you get along, your ability to finance litigation and such. These factors will help you analyze next time whether you should do something if a court order gets broken. If you have questions about any of your court orders contact our family law experts at info@justicelegalgroup.com or call us at 505-880-8737.