SOUTH CAROLINA Part 30

Enforcement

When a party to a family court order fails to follow its terms, one can petition the family court to enforce the order and secure the other party’s compliance. The enforcement mechanism is through a contempt action, commonly called a “Rule to Show Cause.” A rule to show cause asks the family court to hold the opposing party in contempt until he or she complies with the provision of the court order at issue.

A finding of contempt requires a finding that the other party failed to comply with the court order and was “willful” in his or her non-compliance–that is, that the other party had the ability to comply with the court order and chose not to.