Legal Question in Family Law in Wisconsin

Divorce Temporary Court Order

If there is a temporary court order for me to make the mortgage payment, and I cannot afford to do so, who is responsible for this payment if both my and my wife's names are on the mortgage documents, and can I be held in contempt?


Asked on 12/02/07, 12:23 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Jeffrey Murrell Law Office of Jeffrey L. Murrell

Re: Divorce Temporary Court Order

If the court order directs that you are to be solely liable for it, then it is your responsibility to pay it, even though the house may be jointly titled in her name. Whether or not you could be held in contempt would depend on your ability - and willingness - to pay. If you are, in fact, able to pay the mortgage and don't, then it would be a contempt of the order (barring a great excuse for not paying). If you can't afford to pay it, then you might want to think about asking the court to review that temporary order. But sometimes neither party can really afford to pay something like that, so a court will order whomever is most likely to be more able to pay with the responsibility for it. In that event, asking the court to review the temporary order may very well be futile, and you'll just have to get by as best as you can under the circumstances.

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Answered on 12/02/07, 7:56 pm


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