Once the State’s Attorney determines contempt is an appropriate remedy, workers prepare appropriate court filings. Although cases that reach this stage are prepared for trial, court proceedings may be discontinued at any time at the discretion of the State’s Attorney.
Prepare Exhibit B, Record of Payments:
- Exhibit B, Record of Payments, includes the total principal balance and the total arrears amount owed for all time periods, not just the contempt time period.
- If necessary, send the Custodial Parent (CP) the Affidavit of Payments (A02) to verify any direct payments received.
(Optional) Prepare Exhibit C, Purge Calculation Worksheet, if the contempt time period differs from the Record of Payments:
- This time period does not include any time period in which the obligor was previously found to be in contempt. Do not include time periods during which the obligor had no ability to pay as discussed in Section II. B. of the Contempt User Guide. Do not include balances due on support for a prior period.
- Include in the Purge Calculation Worksheet past due current support for the time period of the contempt action.
- If pursuing past due judgment payments, include past due court-ordered monthly judgment payments for the time period of the contempt action.
- Per policy, a payment made during the contempt time period may be applied to an earlier time period, even if it is paid as a purge condition. When a payment is received during the contempt time period but is applied to a debt for an earlier period, the collection is reflected on Exhibit C, Purge Calculation Worksheet, if it is paid to meet the purge conditions.
Calculate the Purge Amount for the Contempt Time Period
The decision whether or not to contempt for judgment installment payments due in addition to current support should be made on a case by case basis, depending on the circumstances of the obligor and the facts of the case. Please see the examples below:
Example 1
If only seeking current support for the contempt time period:
The order was established in January 2012, with current child support at $100 per month. In an Annual Notice filed in December 2012, a $1,100 judgment was granted for the time period of January 2012 through November 2012, with payments set at$50 per month. The contempt time period is from January 2012 through October2013.
Current child support due: $2,200 ($100 per month x 22 months)
Judgment payments due: + $ 0
Purge amount due: $2,200
Example 2
If including past due judgment payments in addition to current support for the contempt time period:
The order was established in January 2012, with current child support at $100 per month. In an Annual Notice filed in December 2012, a $1,100 judgment was granted for the time period of January 2012 through November 2012, with payments set at$50 per month. The State’s Attorney has determined the contempt time period to be from December 2012 through October 2013.
Current child support due: $1,100 ($100 per month x 11 months)
Judgment payments due: + $ 550 ($50 per month x 11 months)
Purge amount due: $1,650
Note: The purge amount due cannot exceed the total due on the Record of Payments. For example, if a federal tax intercept of $750 was received and applied to the $1,100 Annual Notice judgment, the obligor would owe a judgment balance of$350. The total amount due is $1,450 ($1,100 current support due since the Annual Notice judgment + $350 judgment balance). Consequently the purge amount due is $1,450, rather than $1,650. As a result, you must adjust the judgment payment due to account for the difference as follows:
Total amount due: $1,450
Current support due: – $1,100
Judgment payment due: $ 350
Example 3
If you are filing a contempt action from an adjudicated time period forward (e.g. Annual Notice, Notice of Intent to Revoke, etc.):
The order was established in January 2012, with current child support at $100 per month. In an Annual Notice filed in December 2012, an $1,100 judgment was granted for the time period of January2012 through November 2012, with payments set at $50 per month. The contempt time period is from December 2012 through November 2013, during which time the NCP owed $1,200 in current child support.
Current child support due: $1,200 ($100 per month x 12 months)
Judgment payments due: + $ 600 ($50 per month x 12 months)
Purge amount due: $1,800
Example 4
If including past support judgment payments in addition to current support for the contempt time period:
The order was established in January 2012, with current child support at $200 per month. The paternity judgment was set at $1000, at $25 per month. The contempt time period is from January 2012 through October2013.
Current child support due: $4,400 ($200 per month x 22 months)
Judgment payments due: + $ 550 ($25 per month x 22 months)
Purge amount due: $4,950