The decree was signed months ago. The house was supposed to be refinanced out of your name. The alimony was supposed to arrive on the first. The retirement account was supposed to be divided. Instead you're still on the mortgage, the payments are late or missing, and your former spouse has stopped answering.

A divorce decree isn't a set of suggestions – it's a court order, and South Carolina Family Court has real power to enforce it. The main tool is a contempt action, but it isn't the only one.

The Decree is an Order, and ignoring it has consequences

Once obligations are part of a court order, whether because a judge approved the parties' agreement or ruled after a hearing, they are enforceable by the court. The usual starting point is a request for a rule to show cause: an order requiring the other party to come to court and explain why they should not be held in contempt. We explained that process in our post on denied visitation weekends. It works the same way for money and property.

If a judge finds contempt, South Carolina law allows up to one year in a local detention facility, a fine of up to $1,500, up to 300 hours of public works, or a combination. Those are maximums, not typical outcomes. In most money cases, what matters more is that the court sets a way for the person in contempt to fix the problem, such as paying what is owed by a deadline.

"Willful" is the word that matters

Contempt requires willful disobedience of a court order. A former spouse who genuinely cannot pay, and can prove it, is in a different position from one who is able to pay but chooses not to. That's why these hearings so often turn on financial records: bank statements, pay stubs, and spending that shows the money was there.

If the other side's circumstances really have changed, the better path may be a modification action instead of contempt, or alongside it. Sorting out which one fits your situation is the first conversation to have with a lawyer.

Enforcing the property parts of a decree

Support isn't the only thing that gets ignored. Common problems include:

• A deed or vehicle title that was never signed over
• A refinance that never happened, leaving you on a mortgage for a house you no longer own
• A retirement account division that stalled because no one finished the separate order the plan requires, which we covered in our post on splitting a 401(k) account
• Marital debts one spouse was ordered to pay and didn't
• Personal property that was never handed over

Family Court has authority to issue Orders needed to carry out its own Decrees. Depending on the problem, that can mean more than a contempt finding: new deadlines, an order to sell, or another way to get done what the other party refused to do. What is available depends on the exact wording of your decree, which is one more reason precise drafting of the division of assets and debts matters on the front end.

The refinance problem deserves a special word. Your decree can order your former spouse to refinance the mortgage or to hold you harmless on it, but the lender isn't a party to your divorce. Until the loan is refinanced or paid off, the lender can still look to you, and late payments can still show up on your credit. A missed refinance deadline is worth acting on promptly, not waiting out.

What happens if someone misses the court date

People ask this from both sides.

If you are the one who filed, and the other party was properly served with a rule to show cause and doesn't appear, the hearing may go forward without them, and the court has ways to compel attendance.

If you are the one who was served, don't skip it. Missing a contempt hearing doesn't make the problem go away. It gives up your chance to explain, and it can turn a money dispute into a far more serious one. If you truly cannot be there, contact a lawyer before the date, not after.

The same caution applies to any Family Court date. Depending on the hearing, a court may go forward without you, rule on only the other side's evidence, or dismiss a case you filed.

What this means for you

Don't fix it yourself. Stopping your own payments because your former spouse stopped theirs, or holding onto property until they comply, usually hands them a contempt claim of their own.

Keep records instead: what was due, when, what was paid, and every written message about it. And don't wait longer than you need to. Arrears grow, and a problem one hearing could solve this fall can become a much harder one next year.

Stevens Family Law, LLC is devoted exclusively to family law, and our attorneys handle contempt and enforcement matters in Family Courts across South Carolina. A Divorce Decree is only as good as the willingness to enforce it, and if yours is being ignored, we can help you decide whether contempt, modification, or both is the right next step. Call us at (864) 598-9172, or start with our consultation form.

This article is general information, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Enforcement options depend on the wording of the specific order and the facts of each case.