Participate in mediation if required. Some courts require you to try to mediate your dispute before you file a petition with the court to hold the other party in contempt. The mediator is a neutral third party who tries to get you and the other person to come to a compromise regarding the issues addressed in the court order.[2] X Research source The court clerk will be able to tell you if mediation is required. Typically, they'll have a list of court-approved mediators that you can choose from. There's usually a fee for mediation, which typically amounts to a few hundred dollars. If you can't afford it, you may be able to get a fee waiver through the court. You also may be able to get the other person to pay for it. Ask the court to change the original order if necessary. If you and the other person come to an agreement during mediation that would modify the original order, you have to ask the court to make that change by filing a motion. You can't just agree to do something different on your own. The court that issued the original order will typically have forms you can use.[3] X Research source If you and the other person have agreed to the change, you may not even have to go to

court for a hearing on the motion. Typically, the judge will simply approve it and amend the order. However, you may have to go to court for a hearing if there are children involved. If you had an attorney in the original case, call them and talk to them about filing the motion to change the original order. Fill out a petition or motion for contempt form. Some courts refer to this form as a motion while others refer to it as a petition. Regardless of the name, the point of this form is that you are asking the court to hold the other person in contempt because they have violated the court's original order. The court typically has forms you can fill out if you don't have an attorney.[4] X Research source Look on the court's website or go by the courthouse and ask for forms at the clerk's office. If forms aren't available, you may be able to get a copy of a motion or petition for contempt filed in another case that you can use as a guide. If you had an attorney in the original case, they're typically still considered your attorney for the purposes of a contempt motion or petition. Give them a call and find out what you need to do. They may charge you additional fees to represent you

regarding the contempt order. File your paperwork with the court that issued the original order. Once you have the correct forms completed, make at least 2 photocopies — one for you and one for the other person. Take them to the clerk's office of the court where your original case was heard. The clerk will file your originals and give the other 2 copies back to you with a stamp showing the date the document was filed with the court.[5] X Research source Some courts charge a fee, while others don't. If the document you file is called a motion, there typically isn't any fee to file it because it's considered a part of the original case for which the order was issued.[6] X Research source Have the other person served with the petition. Once you've filed your motion or petition, you have to deliver it to the other person so they have notice of the hearing. Since this is considered a continuation of the original case, you typically don't have to hire a sheriff or private process serving company to deliver the documents in person.[7] X Research source Usually, you'll serve the documents by mailing them using certified mail with return receipt requested. Keep the green card you get back

in the mail when the documents are delivered — you'll need it to fill out the proof of service form to submit to the court. Go to your court hearing. The clerk will typically set the date for your hearing when you file your motion or petition. You may even get to choose a date yourself. On the date of that hearing, show up at the courthouse at least 30 minutes early so you have time to get through security and find the right courtroom.[8] X Research source Judges typically hear a lot of different motions over the course of one session — you'll often hear these referred to as the judge's "motion day." For this reason, there will likely be a lot of people in the courtroom, mostly attorneys. Just take a seat in the gallery until your name is called. The judge may go through the docket of motions they have scheduled for the day before they start hearing those motions so they can determine who has shown up and take the quick motions first. When the judge calls your name, stand and say "ready." If you and the other person have come to an agreement, either between yourselves or through mediation, say "ready with agreement." Present your case to the judge. Since you filed the motion,

the judge will typically ask you to speak first. Introduce the original order, then describe the way in which the person violated the order. You should also describe any ways you've tried to compromise with the person before you filed a motion or petition for contempt.[9] X Research source In many cases, your testimony will essentially be the only evidence that the person has failed to comply with the order. If you have any messages or documents related to the person's compliance with the order, you can present those in court. The other person has the right to be in the hearing and testify on their own behalf. They can also bring witnesses or evidence. You have the right to cross-examine the other person, if they testify, or any witnesses they call to testify on their behalf. Otherwise, address all of your comments and questions to the judge. Find out the judge's decision. When the judge hears your motion, they'll listen to your arguments about why the other person should be held in contempt for violating the original order. Then they will listen to what the other person has to say.[10] X Research source If the other person didn't show up for the hearing, the judge will likely

grant your motion or petition, provided you have evidence that the person violated the court order. If the other person did show up, the judge may give them a short period of time to comply with the order. If the person still doesn't comply with the order by the deadline, they'll be arrested and taken to jail until they agree to comply with the order. Work out a payment plan with the person who owes you money. When you get a court order for money, the person typically won't hand you that money immediately. If it's a larger sum, you may be able to work with them to get regular payments.[11] X Research source The court typically won't make any attempt to collect the money for you, but they may help you enforce a payment plan agreement that you make with the other person. If you can come to an agreement with the person who owes you money under the court order, this is typically the quickest and easiest way to get the judgment paid. Making collection efforts can be expensive and time-consuming. Consult a lawyer or collection agency. Rules for collecting judgments can be complicated. You can hire a collection agency or a lawyer who specializes in collections to get the money for you.

They'll typically charge you a percentage of the amount they collect, as much as 15-20%, as a fee for their services.[12] X Research source If you don't have the time to get involved in the collections process, it may be easier for you to let someone else take care of the problem. This can be especially beneficial if you believe the person will try to avoid collections. Find out about the person's money or assets. Before you can collect your judgment, you need to find out what the person has available in money or assets. Typically, you do this by asking the court for an "order of discovery," although it may be called by a different name in your local court. This order requires the person who owes you the judgment to provide information about their income and assets, including any personal property or real estate they own. Then you can decide how you'd like to proceed with collecting the judgment.[13] X Research source You usually have to wait at least 30 days after the order was entered before you can ask the court for an order of discovery. During that time, it's possible for the other person to appeal the order. However, once the order is final, you can start collecting on it.

The court will have forms you can complete to file a motion asking the court to issue an order of discovery. You typically must attach a copy of the original order through which you were awarded a money judgment. The order of discovery requires the person to provide information about their employment, their wages, their bank accounts, and any other assets they own, such as real estate. Garnish the person's wages or bank account to recover your money. Wage garnishment is the most common way to enforce a money judgment. Once you have information about the person's employer, you can file for wage garnishment in the same court. The person will have a period of time to contest the garnishment, but after that, a certain amount will be withheld from their paychecks until the judgment is paid in full.[14] X Research source The court clerk will have forms you can fill out to start the wage garnishment process. Typically, you won't have to appear in court to complete this process. When you collect the judgment through wage garnishment, you can also collect interest that accrued on the debt before it was paid in full. If the person has the total amount owed to you in their bank account, it

may make more sense to garnish their bank account and collect all of the money you're owed at once. File the judgment in the county clerk's office if the person owns real estate. Although the basic procedure may vary in your state, typically all you have to do is take a copy of the judgment to the county clerk's office in the county where the person owns real estate. Once the judgment is filed by the clerk, it becomes a lien on the property for the amount of the judgment.[15] X Research source If the person owes real estate in more than one county, you may be able to file the judgment in each of those counties. However, you can only collect up to the total amount of the judgment. Once the judgment is satisfied, you'll have to file a form with each of those county clerks noting that the lien was satisfied. Request a writ from the court to execute on the person's property. If the person has substantial personal property or other assets, such as a boat, a car, or fine jewelry, you may be able to seize those items and sell them to collect on your judgment. To do this, you'll typically have to get the court to issue a writ. The court will have forms you can use to do this. A sheriff or

other law enforcement officer then executes this writ and seizes the property.[16] X Research source The person must have a minimum amount of personal property before you can use this method to collect the money they owe you under the court order — typically, at least $1,000 worth of property. You'll have to pay a fee to the court as well as the law enforcement officer who executes the writ. Typically, these fees are under $100. Seek support from sympathetic organizations. If you know of groups dedicated to a cause similar to the one you have a court order about, they may be willing to help your enforcement efforts. Sympathetic organizations can be especially helpful if they happen to have a broader reach and greater access to resources than you do.[17] X Research source For example, if you won a court order declaring your state's abortion law unconstitutional, you might seek help and support from reproductive rights organizations, such as Planned Parenthood or NARAL (National Abortion Rights Action League). Work with local media to generate publicity about the court decision. By letting people know about the court order, you increase the chances that whoever is responsible for

complying with the court order will do so. Negative publicity surrounding their failure to comply will likely have a drastic effect on their continued operations.[18] X Research source For example, if you won a court order against a drug company to stop selling drugs that were harmful or addictive, and the company is still selling those drugs, continuous publicity may cause investors to sell stock in the company. That could cause the company's value to plummet. If your court order involves a law or regulation, the government's failure to comply with the court order could endanger the re-election chances for government officials. Establish personal contact with elected representatives. Whether your court order was against a government entity or a private company, elected representatives will act to enforce the court order if they feel it's in the best interests of their constituents to do so. Meet with your elected officials and explain the court order and what needs to be done to comply with it.[19] X Trustworthy Source Kansas University Center for Community Health and Development Community-based research center focused on supporting public health development and education Go to

source Visit your local elected officials in person and let them know how important it is to comply with the court order and what they can do to make that happen. Keep in mind that if you have a court order against a corporation, they will typically only be fined if they refuse to comply with the court order. However, the government can put pressure on the corporation to comply with the order. Government officials can also introduce new legislation or regulation to make the court order a part of the law that governs the company. Engage the general public to put pressure on officials. If the court order you won involves changing a law, regulation, or government policy, you can encourage people to contact their representatives and tell them to take action to comply with the court order. Likewise, corporate executives can be pressured into implementing new regulations or policies to comply with a court order.[20] X Research source For example, you can create social media posts encouraging people to contact the appropriate officials and express their concerns about the court order. Include the names and phone numbers or email addresses of those officials in your post so people can

easily take action. You might also include a script for people who aren't sure what they should say on the phone or a draft email that people can copy and paste to send.