Whatt o do if my husband was ordered to pay $1000 by his next court date and that day is here and he does not have it?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Whatt o do if my husband was ordered to pay $1000 by his next court date and that day is here and he does not have it?
He does however have receipts showing why he doesnt have it all. We got in a car accident; we only have one car. Also, we had to get the car out of repo. Will the receipts hold up?
Asked on December 12, 2012 under Family Law, Texas
Answers:
B.H.F., Member, Texas State Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
The main thing that your husband does need to do is to show up. Not showing will only get him in hotter water with the judge. He needs to take what he does have as a show of good faith. He also needs to take the receipts to show that he had unexpected expenses. The receipts are good, but it would be even stronger if he could have the people who did the work write out a statement about having to do the work and the expense associated. Essentially, more info is always better than less info.
As far as what will happen, that will depend on the judge. If your husband shows up with some of the money and good documentation of why he does not have the rest, then many judges will give him an extension before resorting to contempt via jail time. If he's in front of a very difficult judge, the judge could still hold him in contempt if he does not have the funds. If the judge starts talking contempt with jail time, your husband needs to (very politely) ask the judge for a court appointed attorney to help him. Generally, parents don't get court appointed attorney's in civil cases, however a judge considering jail time for contempt of a child support obligation is an exception to that rule because it involves a physical loss of liberty. From there, the attorney can help your husband assert the defense of "inability to pay" in response to the judge's contempt ruling.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.