By Selim Star

​There are three ways to collect unpaid medical bills, unpaid daycare bills and changes to child support, those methods are: CIVIL CONTEMPT; CRIMINAL CONTEMPT and MOTION FOR PARTIAL JUDGMENT IN A SUM CERTAIN. You can think of a Motion for partial judgment in a sum certain as a motion for accounting all the medical bills, daycare expenses, insurance payment into a lump sum judgment.

For information regarding Civil and Criminal Contempt you can read the 2014 blog post here.

MOTION FOR PARTIAL JUDGMENT. or Motion for Accounting is the attempt is to get an order which states the total amount due through a certain date. At the time that the Decree of Divorce or Decree of Paternity was done, no one knew how much the daycare expenses or medical expenses would be in total, so the language in the Decree would say something like "father shall pay 65% and mother shall pay 35%."  

EASIER THAN CONTEMPT. Motion for partial judgment for a sum certain, is easier than a motion for contempt, as a judge is more likely to allow you to attach your receipts to your motion and get a judgment, rather than the complexities of and formalities of contempt, but contempt can put someone in jail, award attorney fees or fine them for non-compliance. 

SEPARATE FROM CHILD SUPPORT. Medical expenses, medical insurance premiums, daycare expenses, are separate from child support and are often not included in child support. Often one parent has paid those expenses without the other's contribution you can file a motion for these amounts. 

CONTEMPT. It is generally a separate action from contempt. 

SEND INVOICES WHEN RECEIVED. Judges get grumpy when you hang on to receipts and then file a motion for a large amount without having sent them to the other party to pay in a reasonable time after you received them. The invoices should be forwarded to the other party within a reasonable time from when they were received. In fact Judge Haemmerle has been including this paragraph in her orders "Parties may not hoard medical bills to untimely submit to the other demanding payment of multiple billings that have accumulated over a period of time, but should exchange them as they are received.” 

IF MORE THAN $500 COST TO OTHER PARTY NEED CONSENT IN WRITING. The family law rules require written consent before incurring expensive health care expenses. "Any claimed health care expense for the children, whether or not covered by insurance, which would result in an actual out-of-pocket expense to the other parent of over $500 for the course of treatment, must be approved in advance, in writing, by both parents or by prior court order. Relief may be granted by the Court for failure to comply under extraordinary circumstances, and the Court may in its discretion apportion the incurred expense in some percentage other than that in the existing support order, and in so doing, may consider whether consent was unreasonably requested or withheld." IRFLP 126 H.4.b.

COLLECTION. The Motion for Partial Judgment in a Sum Certain, takes the percentages that each parent owed for daycare or medical expenses and allows you to get a lump sum judgment for those amounts. Once you have the lump sum judgment you can collect the amount as a normal creditor would or you can add the amount to child support arrears. Normal collection methods are generally wage withholding or a lien on an asset, which is very difficult. 

USES for MOTION FOR PARTIAL JUDGMENT IN A SUM CERTAIN.

• Back Child Support
• Child Care Expenses
• Health Insurance Premium (changes to it or switch from Medicaid to employer)
• Health Care Expenses can be (medical, dental, orthodontist, special education, psychological, addiction treatment)
• Continuing Support (when first child turns 18 and they kept taking the same amount as for two kids)
• Wrong parent declared a child on their taxes (this would be to reconcile the amount by getting a judgment for the benefit they gained by not following the Decree)
• Spousal Maintenance, Alimony, Spousal Support 

SELF HELP FORM. There used to be a self help form to collect the unpaid medical expenses, daycare expenses etc. That form was in this format: 

Full Name of Party Filing this Document
Mailing Address (Street or Post Office Box)
City, State and Zip Code
Telephone Number
IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE ____________________ JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF THE
STATE OF IDAHO, IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF _____________________
, )
Plaintiff, ) Case No.
vs. )
) MOTION AND AFFIDAVIT FOR
, ) ENTRY OF PARTIAL JUDGMENT IN A
Defendant. ) SUM CERTAIN
)
STATE OF IDAHO )
: ss
County of __________________)
To obtain a partial judgment in a sum certain, I swear under oath:
[ ] Section One: Health Care or Work-related Child Care Expenses.
1. The Order/Decree in this case provides for a sharing of [ ] health care expenses not paid by insurance, and/or [ ] work-related child care costs, in the following percentages: _______% to be paid by father and ______% to be paid by mother.
2. I have paid the total sum of [ ] $______________ in medical expenses and/or [ ] in work-related child care costs and, despite having submitted proof of payment to the other parent, I have not been reimbursed.
3. (name) ____________________________ owes me the sum of $___________ for his/her portion of health care expenses not paid by insurance or work-related child care expenses incurred to (date), _____________________, and a partial judgment should be entered against him/her in that amount.

[ ] Section Two: Payments to Creditors.
1. The Order/Decree in this case provides for the payment of the following account/s by my former spouse: .
2. I have paid the total sum of $______________ for this/these accounts and, despite having submitted proof of payment to my former spouse, I have not been reimbursed.
3. (name) ____________________________ owes me the sum of $___________ for his/her portion of creditor payments made by me to ____________________ (date), and a partial judgment should be entered against him/her.
[ ] Section Three. Request for Partial Judgment.
I ask that Partial Judgment be entered against (other party’s name) ________________________ in favor of (your name) ____________________________in the amount of $________________, for
[ ] health care expenses [ ] work-related child care costs [ ] payments to creditors.
[ ] This Partial Judgment should be collected through Idaho Health and Welfare, Child Support Receipting. I have attached copies of receipts reflecting the above amounts, which are true and correct amounts to the best of my knowledge and belief. (Attach receipts and/or any other documentation used to verify the amount requested.)
Date:
Signature
SUBSCRIBED and SWORN to before me this _____ day of , 20____.
Notary Public for
Residing at
Commission Expires:

You can get compensated if you are owed child support, alimony, spousal support, medical expenses, daycare bills, or maybe you are still on the mortgage for a house or a car loan of your ex-spouse. 

YOU MUST SEE AN ATTORNEY QUICKLY. Collecting the amounts owed to you is a very difficult and technical process. Quite literally, if you didn't give proper time or say the magic words in your paperwork the court will throw you out. 

IF SOMEONE IS THREATENING TO FILE CONTEMPT AGAINST YOU. You must contact an attorney immediately, as there may be things you can do now to avoid contempt.

ACT NOW. If you don't act immediately you may lose the most effective method of collecting, throwing the person in contempt in jail. 

I find that about half the time a threatening letter from an attorney will make someone comply with the order. 

There is in essence THREE ways to proceed and all three methods can be pursued simultaneously:

ONE. “Motion for Entry of a Partial Judgment for a Sum Certain” or Motion for Accounting. The attempt is to get an order which states the total amount that is owed, in order to collect the amount as a normal creditor would or you can add the amount to child support arrears. Normal collection methods are generally wage withholding or a lien on an asset, which is very difficult. Generally a separate action from contempt. 

TWO. Criminal Contempt. This is simply throwing someone in jail or a fine for something that they did not do when they should have. Because the person was ordered to do something, they didn't do it, and they could have done it, there is no way to avoid jail time or a fine through future compliance. Inability to comply at the time the person was supposed to do it is a defense to this action. Some judges are applying a statute of limitations of one year to this action. Some judges force you to prove that they could have complied at the time that the action was supposed to have been done. 

THREE. Civil Contempt. This is simply allowing someone to comply in 30 days and avoid a penalty altogether. Inability to presently comply is a defense to this action. Often used to pay back alimony or child support arrears. The Judge comes up with an amount that he or she feels the contemnor can pay back after reviewing that persons earnings and reasonable living expenses. Often it is a monthly expenditure, such as $100 towards arrears until the arrears are paid in full. If a payment isn't made then contemnor goes to jail. There is no statute of limitations. 

ATTORNEY FEES. Attorney fees can be awarded if you prevail. Each Judge is very different as to what situation he or she awards attorney fees. Sometimes you must have said the magic words in order to get attorney fees. 

Please read Rule 75 in it's entirety and also Idaho Code 7-610, and as stated before the law and rules are so technical, that this is not an area that can be done without an attorney. 

This area of the law changes daily as the Judges attempt to balance the quazi-criminal elements of contempt such as putting someone in jail and the constitutional protections involved with court action that results in jail time, with the inherent ability of the court to enforce its orders and fairness of allowing someone to receive the benefit of the what the court ordered them to receive.  

By Selim Star. 
Once a divorce is filed the Judge will enter a Joint Preliminary Injunction automatically to prevent the divorcing parties from engaging in certain conduct. Many times I am asked "We are considering a divorce and my spouse is talking about leaving the state with our child, how do I stop her/him?" or "How do I prevent my spouse from entering my residence?" or "How do I prevent my spouse from getting new debts that I'll be liable for." The Joint Preliminary Injunction may help with these problems. 

MAY PREVENT CHILD FROM LEAVING STATE. There are many times when a divorcing couple might have a dispute about whether a parent can move with a child out of Idaho. The Joint Preliminary Injunction prevents either parent from leaving the state for longer than a certain time. In general if you have a planned trip to leave the state, like to visit family, you can get permission in writing or ask the court for an order. Upon motion the judge may allow a parent to move out of state before trial. 

MAY PREVENT NEW DEBTS. Only in certain circumstances can a spouse add debt. 

MAY PREVENT UNFETTERED ACCESS TO RESIDENCE. Once the parties have separate residences the parties need to respect each other's privacy as is stated. 

GENERALLY BEGINS TO BE IN EFFECT WHEN DEFENDANT IS SERVED. This may differ from Judge to Judge and county to county. 

Below is the text of the Joint Preliminary Injunction that has been used in Blaine County. Other counties have different language and enjoin the divorcing parties from different activities. 


JOINT PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION

NOTICE! READ THIS DOCUMENT CAREFULLY- YOU MAY BE HELD IN CONTEMPT OF COURT OR HAVE OTHER SANCTIONS IMPOSED AGAINST YOU FOR VIOLATION OF THIS ORDER.

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that during  the period of time that the above-entitled action is pending, absent the subsequent order of the Court, the Plaintiff and Defendant are enjoined and prohibited from:

1.         Transferring, encumbering, concealing, selling or otherwise disposing of any joint. common or community property without the. written consent of the opposing party.

2.         Incurring any debt, except in the usual course of business or for the costs and expenses of this litigation or for the necessities of life, without the written consent of the opposing party.

3.         Removing any child to which the opposing party may have a legal claim for custody or control from the jurisdiction of the court for any period exceeding 72 hours.

4.         Cashing, borrowing against, canceling, transferring, disposing of or changing the beneficiaries of any insurance or indemnity policy, including without limitation life, health. automobile or disability insurance, held for the benefit of either party or any child.

5.         Possessing or attempting to possess any real or personal property currently in the possession of the opposing party.

6.         Terminating or otherwise affecting the service of water, power, gas, telephone cable or other utilities or services at the community or customary residence of the opposing party.

7.         Excluding the other party from or preventing access to: a) the usual residence of the opposing party, b) places where community property or property of the other is stored or c) business or tax records of the parties. If the parties maintain separate residences, neither shall attempt to enter or gain access to the residence of the other without the written permission of the opposing party.

5.         Taking any action that may diminish the community or separate property interest of the opposing: party in any business or that may limit access of inc opposing party to the care, custody and control of any property, accounts or records of that business.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this order shall be personally provided to the Plaintiff and/or delivered to counsel for the Plaintiff to provide to the Plaintiff and personally served by the Plaintiff upon the Defendant at the time of service of the Summons and Complaint and that this order shall be made a part of the court record in this matter.

EACH VIOLATION OF THIS ORDER MAY RESULT IN INDIVIDUAL SANCTIONS INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, A FINE OF UP TO $5000, A MAXIMUM OF FIVE DAYS IN JAIL AND AN AWARD OF ATTORNEY FEES.

You can be put into jail for not paying child support in Idaho. If someone has filed contempt against you or an action to suspend your drivers license, you should seek legal counsel. 

In addition, if you have not been receiving child support, depending on the circumstances you can put the non-paying parent in jail for non-payment or suspend their hunting or driver's license or have the court order them to work. (Contempt-Additional Penalties for Child Support Delinquency, I.C. Sec 7-612)

The penalties for not complying with a child support order can be very serious and can result in 5 days of jail for each instance of contempt for a total of 30 days in jail if it is regarding non-payment of child support. (Contempt-Judgment Penalty, I.C. Sec. 7-610)

CONTEMPT FOR ANYTHING. Generally you can request that a court find someone in contempt for not complying with anything that they were previously ordered to do, whether child support, alimony, paying a credit card, following a custody schedule, etc. The possible sanctions, possible defenses and chances for success vary widely. 

AN ATTORNEY IS NEEDED FOR CONTEMPT. Contempt actions are very difficult and the possibility of success in defending or prosecuting an action varies dramatically depending on the County or the Judge hearing the issue. An attorney with practical experience is absolutely necessary.  

You will need an attorney if you want to file a contempt motion to collect child support or if a contempt action has been filed against you. 

CRIMINAL CONTEMPT. In Idaho a party to a case may seek to enforce an order through criminal contempt. Criminal contempt is generally asking the court to find that a party is in contempt for not doing something in the past, that can't be presently fixed. For example, someone was ordered to do a certain thing at a certain time and they didn't, they can't go back in time to fix the fact that it was not done. In other words the act once done cannot be undone. Or the inaction can't be remedied. (I.R.C.P. 75 Contempt)

CIVIL CONTEMPT. In Idaho when someone has not done what they were ordered to do in a decree or order then you can ask the court to impose a penalty upon them if they don't comply in the future. In civil contempt a penalty can be avoided if something is done. For example, if someone is behind in child support then the court could order child support arrears to be paid in full by a certain date or else jail time or a fine would be imposed. Even once contempt is found a penalty can be avoided by complying by a certain time. (I.R.C.P. 75 Contempt)

DEFENSE OF INABILITY TO COMPLY. If someone has filed a contempt action against you there is a defense available that you were unable or are unable to comply. There are other defenses but these defenses are very technical and time-sensitive, contact an attorney immediately. (I.R.C.P. 75 Contempt)

Contempt-Judgment Penalty, I.C. Sec. 7-610
(6) Civil sanction. A civil sanction is one that is conditional. The contemnor can avoid the sanction entirely or have it cease by doing what the contemnor had previously been ordered by the court to do. A civil sanction can only be imposed if the contempt consists of failing to do what the contemnor had previously been ordered by the court to do. 
 (7) Criminal sanction. A criminal sanction is one that is unconditional. The contemnor cannot avoid the sanction entirely or have it cease by doing what the contemnor had been previously ordered by the court to do. A suspended sanction with probationary conditions is a criminal sanction, as is a sanction that includes provisions that are both conditional (civil) and unconditional (criminal). A criminal sanction may be imposed for any contempt.


Contempt-Additional Penalties for Child Support Delinquency, I.C. Sec 7-612
In addition to the penalties for contempt contained in this chapter, the following additional penalties are available for a child support delinquency:
(1)  Work activities. In all cases under chapter 2, title 56, Idaho Code, where the custodial parent or children receive temporary assistance for families in Idaho, and the obligor owes past due support and is not incapacitated, the court may issue an order requiring the obligor to participate in work activities.
(2)  License suspension. Pursuant to chapter 14, title 7, Idaho Code, the court may issue an order suspending a license for a child support delinquency as defined by section 7-1402, Idaho Code.