Fort Lauderdale Divorce Lawyer Blog

Last month, a Hillsborough County Circuit judge ordered the arrest of John Dargan Stanton III, a successful Tampa area businessman, after he was found guilty of five counts of criminal contempt of court for failure to pay his child support and alimony obligations. Mr. Stanton failed to attend the contempt hearing where Judge Caroline Tesche sentenced him to almost six months in jail for repeatedly refusing to pay more than $6 million in alimony and child support.

Susan Stanton initiated divorce proceedings in 2009 and the former couple reached a final settlement agreement in July 2011. Although the couple has a 12-year-old son together, she stated her former husband has not supported them for several years. According to her attorney, Mr. Stanton now owes his ex-wife $10 million.

Mr. Stanton is a decorated Vietnam veteran, a former president of Cast-Crete, and he previously ran a building materials company which reported profits of more than $4 million per month at its height. At one point, he owned a mansion and regularly drove several high end sports cars. Now, Mr. Stanton claims he is financially insolvent. In fact, he filed for bankruptcy just three days prior to the contempt hearing. Still, Judge Tesche believes Mr. Stanton has the ability to pay.

Mr. Stanton reportedly owns stock in several large companies as well as other assets. His attorney has argued Mr. Stanton's hands are tied as the former couple's settlement agreement prohibits Mr. Stanton from selling his stock in order to generate cash. He also claims Mr. Stanton is unable to liquidate any of his assets and lives off of loans and a small monthly Department of Veterans Affairs disability check.

According to Susan Stanton, her ex-husband has the money and is merely hiding millions of dollars in assets from her. In November 2010, Mr. Stanton spent more than two weeks in jail for refusing to produce documents during the couple's divorce proceedings. When he filed for bankruptcy, Mr. Stanton estimated his assets as being in the range of $100 to $500 million and his liabilities at no more than $50 million. To further complicate the case, the Internal Revenue Service is also performing a criminal investigation into Mr. Stanton. His attorney has stated he is not aware of Mr. Stanton's current location.

Each year many Florida residents find themselves in the midst of a less than amicable divorce. Understandably, the host of emotions associated with the end of a marriage can be overwhelming. The financial damage can oftentimes make a bad situation even worse. If you are contemplating divorce, you need an experienced family law attorney to help you protect your financial interests.

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You may be required to hire a Fort Lauderdale divorce lawyer to enforce your child support award through civil contempt. Civil contempt sanctions are utilized by the marital and family law court to compel compliance with a court order and used to compensate the moving party for losses sustained by the contemnor's willful failure to comply with a divorce court order or judgment that requires him or her to pay child support.

One of the sanctions that a Fort Lauderdale divorce attorney may request is to revoke a delinquent obligors drivers license and motor vehicle registration as a sanction in order to compel payment of your child support. If the court orders incarceration, a coercive fine or any other coercive sanction for failing to pay child support, it is required that conditions be set to purge the contempt, based upon the obligors present ability to pay or comply. Accordingly, the sanction of a driver's license suspension requires the Florida marital and family law court to find a present ability to pay any purge amount set by the court.

In Anderson v. Department of Revenue, the Fourth District Court of Appeals reversed a Broward County, Florida divorce court decision holding an indigent father in contempt of court for his failure to pay child support and for setting a purge of $5,000.00. Judge Alfred J. Horowitz, a divorce judge in Fort Lauderdale, Florida ordered Mr. Anderson to pay $5,000 in child support arrears within 48 hours to avoid jail time. Mr. Anderson timely appealed Judge Horowitz's order to the Fourth District Court of Appeals because he was indigent; and therefore, would not be able to make the immediate $5,000 payment. The trial court determined that Mr. Anderson was indigent purposes of his appeal.

Mr. Anderson was in child support arrears over $50,000. Even though he owed a substantial amount of money, the Fourth District Court of Appeals held that the trial court committed reversible error in finding Mr. Anderson in contempt of court and thereafter determining that he was indigent for the purposes of the appeal. The Court reasoned that the finding of indigent status evidenced an inability to pay the $5,000.00 purge.

When a party is requesting that a court find an obligor in indirect civil contempt of court, incarceration cannot be used as a means to seek compliance with the court order when the contemnor does not have the present ability to purge himself of contempt. The contemnor must have the key to the jailhouse door.