Law and Court Expectations

Wednesday, May 6th, 2009

Maybe you have experienced or witnessed the power of the family court. It can transfer property to someone else, order violent people to leave their homes, or compel somebody to pay various sums of money. However, it also has its limitations.

Family law is a “civil” law dealing with disputes, not crimes. So for example, if you just had a divorce and your former spouse is not following court orders such as visitation, child custody, or child support, then he or she is not committing a crime. Only a non-molestation injuction was broken.

And since the court cannot monitor its orders, it’s up to you to check whether they’re being carried out. The only way you can make somebody follow the law is to take the case back to court again. That’s why it’s important to keep all your court papers on file.

Another limitation of family law or court is its inability to change the attitude or personality of your spouse. Don’t expect a nasty person to be nice and an unreasonable person to be reasonable just because the law ordered them to. So remember that the law can be a big help to settle your disputes and divorce issues, but you cannot expect it to do everything for you.

Tags: court orders, Divorce, family court, family law, law
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