Last Updated: Aug 10, 2026
Read Time: 2 mins
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Transcript:
If your ex has an alimony obligation that they are refusing to pay, the way we resolve those cases is by filing a petition for civil contempt. There’s two types of contempt in Tennessee. Uh, one of those is called criminal contempt and one is civil contempt. The difference between those two is civil contempt is designed to enforce an obligation that can be resolved by making them turn over or pay something that’s owed. Criminal contempt is simply designed to enforce a court obligation where you are seeking to punish someone. And the reason we don’t call it civil there is there’s no way to get back something that was owed. Whereas with civil contempt, the court can not only enforce the obligation, it can make them return to you or give to you what is owed. When we file that petition for contempt, we show to the court this person has the ability to pay and they simply did not do it. And so we want either them to be fined or incarcerated for failure to comply with the court order. And two, we want the court to make them pay this money with interest. And when you file a contempt action in Tennessee, you can ask for your attorney fees to be rewarded to you. So if you have to hire me or another lawyer to enforce an alimony obligation, you can ask the court to say, “Look, it’s not fair to me that I had to come to court to ask that this person pay what they are supposed to pay. I not only need my money back that I was owed, but I need my attorney fees reimbursed to me.” And a court can order that at the time of a contempt proceeding.
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