CONTEMPT OF COURT IN COLORADO SPRINGS: ENFORCING DIVORCE AND PARENTING ORDERS
When a former spouse ignores a divorce decree or parenting plan, contempt of court in Colorado Springs and across Colorado is governed by C.R.C.P. 107, the contempt rule in the Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure. Contempt can lead to fines, jail or an order to pay your attorney fees, but it has strict procedural steps.
For unpaid support or missed parenting time, there are often faster tools than contempt. This guide explains remedial and punitive contempt, the steps from motion to hearing, the inability-to-pay defense, the alternatives, attorney fees, and what to do while an order is being violated.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- What Counts as Contempt in a Family Case
- Remedial Versus Punitive Sanctions
- The Contempt Process Step by Step
- The Inability-to-Pay Defense
- Faster Alternatives to Contempt
- Attorney Fees
- Practical Steps While an Order Is Being Violated
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Talking With a Colorado Springs Family Law Attorney
- Sources
WHAT COUNTS AS CONTEMPT IN A FAMILY CASE
Rule 107 defines contempt to include "disobedience or resistance by any person to or interference with any lawful writ, process, or order of the court." In a family case, that commonly means unpaid child support or maintenance, refusing court-ordered parenting time, failing to transfer property or sign documents as the decree requires, or violating the automatic temporary injunction while a divorce is pending.
Contempt that happens outside the courtroom is called indirect contempt, and it requires the formal process described below. The question is whether a party disobeyed a specific, current court order, so start by confirming exactly what the most recent order says.
The best interests of the child govern parenting decisions themselves. A contempt hearing asks a narrower question: whether a party disobeyed a clear order and, for remedial sanctions, whether that party can still comply.
REMEDIAL VERSUS PUNITIVE SANCTIONS
Rule 107 separates contempt sanctions into two types with different purposes and different protections. The court may combine both types in one proceeding, but only if it follows the procedures and makes the findings each type requires.
| Feature | Remedial Sanctions | Punitive Sanctions |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Force compliance with a lawful order, or compel an act within the person's power or present ability to perform | Punish conduct that offends the authority and dignity of the court |
| Possible sanctions | A fine or jail that continues until the person complies; costs and reasonable attorney fees | An unconditional fine, a fixed jail sentence, or both |
| Key findings | The person failed to comply and has the present ability to comply | Proof beyond a reasonable doubt and a finding that the conduct offended the court's authority and dignity; case law also requires knowledge of the order, ability to comply and willful refusal |
| Way out | The order must describe how the person can purge the contempt | No purge; the sanction is fixed |
| Rights of the accused | A hearing with evidence for and against | Advisement of rights, including counsel (appointed if indigent and jail is possible), the presumption of innocence and the right to remain silent |
| Jail limit | Lasts only until the person complies | Up to six months unless the person was advised of a right to a jury trial |
The rule expressly requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt for punitive sanctions. It does not state a separate standard for remedial sanctions, but the court must make findings, including that the person has the present ability to do what the order requires.
For remedial sanctions, the motion or citation must describe the sanctions being sought. An order deciding contempt and sanctions is final for purposes of appeal, and the court may reconsider any punitive sanction.
THE CONTEMPT PROCESS STEP BY STEP
- Motion and affidavit. The filing party submits a motion supported by an affidavit showing that indirect contempt occurred. The Judicial Branch form is the Motion and Affidavit for Citation for Contempt of Court (JDF 1816), which is signed under penalty of perjury and asks you to describe the order, the violation and the sanctions requested.
- Citation. If the motion is sufficient, the court may issue a citation, without a hearing, ordering the other party to appear and show cause why they should not be held in contempt.
- Personal service. The citation, motion, affidavit and order must be served directly on the person at least 21 days before the hearing. A private process server or the sheriff can serve them.
- Advisement. Some courts hold an advisement hearing first. If punitive sanctions are sought, the judge advises the person of their rights before the contempt hearing.
- Hearing. Both sides present evidence. The court decides whether the person is in contempt and, if so, which sanctions to impose.
- Failure to appear. If a properly served person does not appear, the court may issue a warrant for their arrest.
Service Has to Be Personal
In In re Marriage of Conners, 2024 CO 44, a post-decree child support case, the Colorado Supreme Court held that Rule 107(c) requires physical service on the specific person accused of contempt. Email, substituted service, and service through the person's lawyer or a coworker do not satisfy the rule.
The Judicial Branch's instructions on options to enforce orders (JDF 1800) also note that many judicial officers require an attempt at mediation before a contested hearing.
THE INABILITY-TO-PAY DEFENSE
Remedial contempt is aimed at people who can comply and will not. In In re Marriage of Nussbeck, 974 P.2d 493 (Colo. 1999), the Colorado Supreme Court explained that before imposing remedial sanctions for failing to pay, the court must find a present ability to pay. For punitive contempt, the court must find a lawful order, knowledge of it, ability to comply, and willful refusal.
For child support, C.R.S. 14-14-110 makes certain payment records, including a copy of the Family Support Registry's record of payments, prima facie evidence of contempt. The paying parent can respond, and the court may consider whether the parent paid before the hearing, or whether physical incapacity or other good cause prevented payment.
If your income has genuinely dropped, do not wait for a contempt motion. File promptly to modify a Colorado child support order, because under C.R.S. 14-10-122 a modification generally reaches only installments that come due after the motion is filed.
FASTER ALTERNATIVES TO CONTEMPT
Unpaid Support: Judgments
Under C.R.S. 14-10-122(1)(c), each installment of child support or maintenance becomes a judgment when it is due and not paid. You can file a verified entry of support judgment stating the period and the amount owed, and then enforce it like other money judgments.
According to the Judicial Branch's enforcement instructions, recording a transcript of that judgment with the county clerk and recorder creates a lien on real estate the other party owns in that county.
Income Assignments
Under C.R.S. 14-14-111.5, child support and maintenance orders operate as income assignments. The person owed support, that person's representative, or the delegate child support enforcement unit can activate one by serving a notice to withhold income on the paying party's employer.
Colorado Child Support Services
If your order is set up with Colorado Child Support Services, part of the Colorado Department of Human Services, the county office that handles your order can help collect payments. A Colorado Springs child support lawyer can help you decide whether to use the county program, court enforcement, or both.
Missed or Refused Parenting Time
Under C.R.S. 14-10-129.5, either parent can file a verified motion alleging that the other is not following the parenting time order. Within 35 days, the court must deny the motion if the allegations are inadequate, set a hearing, or order mediation with a report due within 63 days.
If the court finds noncompliance, it can add terms to the order, modify parenting time in the child's best interests, order make-up parenting time of the same type and length, require a parenting class or family counseling, or require a bond. It can also impose a civil fine of up to $100 per incident of denied parenting time, hold the parent in contempt, or set a hearing to modify decision-making responsibility under C.R.S. 14-10-131.
That last option has its own standard. In In re Marriage of Humphries, 2024 COA 92, the Court of Appeals reversed an order that moved decision-making to the other parent as a parenting time remedy, because a change in decision-making must go through a modification hearing under C.R.S. 14-10-131. It also reversed a $36,500 civil fine because the trial court did not explain how the amount related to specific incidents.
Property and Documents
If the decree orders the other party to sign a deed, title or other document and they refuse, the court can direct the clerk to sign it under C.R.C.P. 70, with the same effect as if the other party had signed. The Judicial Branch's enforcement instructions list the forms.
ATTORNEY FEES
In a remedial contempt proceeding, the court may award costs and reasonable attorney fees connected with the contempt. Under C.R.S. 14-10-129.5(4), when a parent has failed to provide or exercise court-ordered parenting time, the court must order that parent to pay the other party's attorney fees, court costs and expenses.
The fee rule cuts both ways. If the responding parent did not violate the order, the court may order the parent who filed to pay that parent's costs and fees.
Separately, C.R.S. 14-10-119 lets the court order one party to pay a reasonable amount of the other's attorney fees and costs after considering both parties' financial resources, including for work done after judgment.
PRACTICAL STEPS WHILE AN ORDER IS BEING VIOLATED
- Keep a log. Note each date, what the order required, what happened, and who saw it.
- Keep records. Save Family Support Registry payment histories, bank records, texts and emails, and keep your own messages civil, because they may become exhibits.
- Keep following the order yourself. Colorado law keeps child support and parenting time separate, so do not withhold parenting time because support is unpaid, and do not stop paying because parenting time was denied.
- Check the current order. A later modification may have changed the obligation you are trying to enforce.
- Consider mediation. Many judicial officers expect an attempt before a contested hearing, and an agreement can be entered as an order.
- Put safety first. If the violation involves threats, harassment or violence, a civil protection order may be the right tool. Talk with a protection order lawyer and see our article on restraining orders in a Colorado Springs divorce.
For parenting disputes, our child custody lawyers in Colorado Springs handle enforcement and modification. If the problem is a property division or other term of the decree, a Colorado Springs divorce lawyer can review your enforcement options.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Can My Ex Go to Jail for Not Paying Child Support in Colorado?
Possibly. A court can impose jail as a remedial sanction that lasts until the person complies, but only after finding a present ability to pay, or as a punitive sanction after proof beyond a reasonable doubt and the required advisement of rights.
Does a Contempt Motion Have to Be Personally Served?
Yes. Under C.R.C.P. 107(c) and In re Marriage of Conners, 2024 CO 44, the citation and motion must be physically served on the person accused, at least 21 days before the hearing, and email or service through a lawyer is not enough.
Can I Withhold Parenting Time if Child Support Is Not Paid?
No. Colorado keeps child support and parenting time separate, and withholding parenting time can expose you to your own enforcement motion and an order to pay the other parent's attorney fees.
What if I Cannot Afford to Pay What the Order Requires?
Remedial contempt requires a finding that you have the present ability to pay, but that is a defense, not a plan. File a motion to modify as soon as your circumstances change, because modifications generally reach only installments due after the motion is filed.
Will the Court Make the Other Party Pay My Attorney Fees?
It may. Rule 107 allows costs and reasonable attorney fees in remedial contempt, and C.R.S. 14-10-129.5(4) requires a fee award against a parent found to have failed to provide or exercise court-ordered parenting time.
TALKING WITH A COLORADO SPRINGS FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY
Enforcement goes more smoothly when you choose the right tool first: a judgment, an income assignment, a parenting time motion, or contempt. A short conversation can show which one fits your order and your evidence.
Moran, Allen & Associates Family Law Attorneys represents clients in El Paso and Teller counties. Call (719) 447-0762 in Colorado Springs or (719) 686-7554 in Woodland Park, or schedule a free consultation to talk through your situation.
This article is general information about Colorado law as of October 2026 and is not legal advice. Laws and court procedures change, so speak with a licensed Colorado attorney about your own situation.
SOURCES
- C.R.C.P. 107, Remedial and Punitive Sanctions for Contempt (text in Colorado Supreme Court Civil Rules Committee materials, January 2023)
- In re Marriage of Conners, 2024 CO 44 (Colo. June 17, 2024)
- In re Marriage of Nussbeck, 974 P.2d 493 (Colo. 1999)
- In re Marriage of Humphries, 2024 COA 92
- C.R.S. 14-10-119, Attorney Fees
- C.R.S. 14-10-122, Modification and Support Judgments
- C.R.S. 14-10-129.5, Disputes Concerning Parenting Time
- C.R.S. 14-10-131, Modification of Decision-Making Responsibility
- C.R.S. 14-14-110, Contempt of Court
- C.R.S. 14-14-111.5, Income Assignments
- Colorado Judicial Branch, JDF 1816, Motion and Affidavit for Citation for Contempt of Court
- Colorado Judicial Branch, JDF 1800, Instructions and Options to Enforce Orders
- Colorado Department of Human Services, Colorado Child Support Services