HOW DO I ENFORCE OUR AGREEMENT?
You and your spouse or significant other reached a full and final settlement
of your divorce or parenting issues. That agreement was "incorporated by
reference" (or made a part of) an official Order or Decree issued by the Court.
Now, one of the parties has failed or refused to comply with the terms of
your agreement.
If the issue is the collection of past-due child support, see the
Child Support Arrearages in Kentucky
section of our website.
If the issue is something other than support (i.e., custody,
visitation, parenting time, division of assets, responsibility for debts, etc.),
then you will probably have to engage an attorney to represent your interests
and to file a motion for contempt or for an injunction, etc.
The attorney will file an appropriate motion with the Court. The matter
will probably go on the Court's Motion Hour Docket, at which time it will be set
for a hearing. Counsel for the parties may choose to pursue mediation or
other negotiation techniques in hopes of resolving the issue.
Experts may need to be employed to testify about the situation (custody
evaluator, medical doctor, appraiser, etc.). Failing a negotiated
settlement, a hearing may be required to present the facts to the Court.
The parties will likely not receive a decision from the bench on the day of
hearing and will probably have to wait several weeks or months (sometimes
longer) to receive a decision from the court.
Appeals Process in a Nutshell
Either party will have the right to appeal the trial court's decision by
filing a motion to alter, amend or vacate. If that effort is not
successful and the decision is "final and appealable", either party may be
entitled to appeal to the Kentucky Court of Appeals. If that appellate
process is exhausted without an outcome acceptable to the parties, it is
possible that the matter may then be appealed to the Kentucky Supreme Court.
Organizational chart of the
Kentucky Court of Justice
For more information on Kentucky courts, see
http://courts.ky.gov/courts
|
