How Do Nebraska Courts Enforce a Divorce Decree or Parenting Plan When Your Ex Won't Follow It?
Once a divorce is final, it can feel like the hard part is over. Then the equalization payment doesn't arrive, the children's medical bills go unreimbursed, or the other parent keeps the kids past the exchange time again. A Nebraska decree and parenting plan are court orders, and the court that entered them has ways to enforce them.
Contempt is one of those tools. In a civil contempt case, the person asking the court to act generally has to prove by clear and convincing evidence that the other party willfully violated the order. Willfully means intentionally, knowing the conduct violated the order. Court-ordered child or spousal support works a little differently. Nebraska law creates a rebuttable presumption of contempt once a prima facie showing is made that the support is delinquent. Parenting time has its own procedure. If the same case ordered a parent to pay child support and gave that parent parenting time, Neb. Rev. Stat. § 42-364.15 lets a parent seek enforcement when that time is unreasonably withheld or interfered with. What relief follows, if any, depends on the order, the evidence, and the court.
Inability to pay can matter in two separate ways. It can bear on the contempt dispute itself. It also bears on whether jail can be used to force compliance. A past purchase may affect how a judge views someone's credibility. But a civil jail sanction has to account for whether the person can actually meet the purge condition, which is the step that ends the sanction.
On October 2, 2026, the Nebraska Supreme Court decided Shannon v. Shannon, a Sarpy County case. It involved years of unpaid equalization, medical reimbursements, and attorney fees, along with parenting-plan violations. The district court found the former husband in willful contempt and ordered 90 days in jail, which he could avoid by purging the contempt. He represented himself on appeal, and his brief contained fictitious citations that resulted from his admitted use of generative AI. The Supreme Court struck the brief and reviewed only for plain error. It found none and affirmed. Because the review was that limited, the decision shouldn't be read as approval of every sanction or as a prediction of what another court would do. The Court also warned that future appeals relying on made-up legal authority may be dismissed.
Contempt isn't always the right first step. Depending on the problem, modification, negotiation, or better co-parenting communication may fit better. Safety concerns may call for a different response altogether. At Zachary W. Anderson Law, we offer our clients in-house co-parenting and divorce coaching at no additional fee.
A divorce decree or parenting plan only helps if people follow it. When someone doesn't, many people feel stuck between two bad options. They can keep absorbing the problem, or they can go back to court and spend more money on a case that was supposed to be over.
There may be a middle path, but choosing well starts with knowing what the court can actually do. This post covers:
how enforcement works in Nebraska
what "willful" means
how inability to pay fits in
what a new Nebraska Supreme Court decision out of Sarpy County shows, and doesn't show
Your Decree and Parenting Plan Are Court Orders
Once a Nebraska court enters a decree of dissolution or approves a parenting plan, its terms are enforceable orders. Common enforcement problems include:
An equalization or property-settlement payment that never arrives
Refusing to sign a deed, vehicle title, or retirement-division paperwork the decree requires
Unpaid child support, alimony, or a share of the children's uninsured medical expenses
Unpaid attorney fees the court ordered
Late returns, missed exchanges, blocked phone or video contact, or out-of-state travel without the notice the plan requires
The right response depends on several things:
the specific order and the procedure that applies
whether the other party is able to comply
what relief you're asking for
in child-related decisions, the children's best interests
Contempt: One Enforcement Tool
In a show-cause case, one party asks the court to order the other party to appear and explain why they should not be held in contempt. Nebraska's divorce statutes expressly preserve contempt proceedings. They also provide that costs, including a reasonable attorney's fee, may be taxed against a party found in contempt. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 42-370.
What has to be proven
The Nebraska Supreme Court has held that willful disobedience is an essential element of contempt. A violation is willful when it was committed intentionally, with knowledge that the act violated the court order.
Some statutes set a different standard or create an evidentiary presumption. Outside of those, the person seeking contempt must prove every element by clear and convincing evidence. That is a higher bar than "more likely than not." Sickler v. Sickler, 293 Neb. 521, 878 N.W.2d 549 (2016).
Support is one area where a statute changes the starting point. Under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 42-358(3), "[a] rebuttable presumption of contempt shall be established if a prima facie showing is made that the court-ordered child or spousal support is delinquent." A presumption is not an automatic contempt finding. The other party can try to rebut it.
Civil contempt is about compliance
Civil contempt proceedings are meant to compel obedience with court orders made for the benefit of the opposing party. Shannon v. Shannon, 322 Neb. 451, 457 (2026). Civil sanctions are coercive: the person can end the sanction by complying. Criminal contempt, by contrast, is punitive, and its sentence is fixed and unconditional. Sickler, 293 Neb. 521.
That's why civil contempt depends on a purge condition: a specific step that lets the person avoid or end the sanction. As the Court explained in Shannon, "[f]or a contempt order to be civil rather than criminal in nature, the contemnor must have the ability to comply with the contempt order at the time it is imposed to avert punishment." 322 Neb. at 457. Under Sickler, a fixed jail term in civil contempt requires a purge clause that stays available for as long as the person is confined.
"I Can't Afford It": How Inability to Pay Fits In
Inability to pay can matter at two different points.
Willfulness. It can bear on whether a violation was willful in the first place.
Incarceration. The Nebraska Supreme Court has explained that a present inability to comply is a defense to incarceration. It is not necessarily a defense to the contempt finding itself. Sickler, 293 Neb. 521.
On the incarceration question, the burden falls on the person found in contempt. Under Sickler, that person must prove inability by a preponderance of the evidence. That includes showing they tried to use their available resources and assets or to borrow the money, and still couldn't raise enough to comply with the purge order.
A past purchase may affect the court's view of someone's credibility and willfulness. But it does not, by itself, prove the person can satisfy a purge condition today. A civil jail sanction has to account for whether the person can meet the purge condition when the sanction is imposed.
What happened in Shannon v. Shannon
Shannon shows how these issues came up in one Sarpy County case. The account below comes from the Supreme Court's opinion. The credibility findings described are the district court's.
The decree. The 2023 decree gave the mother sole physical custody and the parents joint legal custody. It ordered the father to pay a $21,502.59 equalization payment within six months and to share the children's nonreimbursed medical expenses. It also awarded the mother attorney fees. 322 Neb. at 452–53.
The enforcement filings. The mother filed five applications to show cause. At the hearing, she testified that the father had not paid the equalization payment or her attorney fees, or reimbursed his share of the medical expenses. Id.
The defense. The father testified that he could not afford to pay because of daily living expenses and the legal fees for his appeal of the decree. He had also bought a new Tesla. He offered a medical explanation for that purchase, which the district court did not credit. Id. at 453–54.
The district court's ruling. The district court found the father was not a credible witness and that, despite his claimed financial struggles, he had no intention of paying. It noted that he had chosen to buy the vehicle and could have sold it to meet his obligations, but did not. Id. at 454.
The sanctions. The court ordered 90 days in jail, which the father could avoid by purging the contempt. The opinion does not describe the purge terms. The court also temporarily reduced his 2025 summer parenting time to five weeks and again ordered him to pay the mother's attorney fees. Id.
The appeal. The Supreme Court struck the father's brief, reviewed only for plain error, found none, and affirmed. Id. at 452, 459. In rejecting his argument that jail was overly punitive, the Court called the contempt order "a proportionate and appropriate response" to his "continued disregard" of the decree. It noted that three years had passed without payment. Id. at 457–58.
Fees and parenting time on appeal. The Court found no plain error in the $16,114.74 attorney fee award. Id. at 458–59. It did not separately analyze the reduction in parenting time.
Because the Supreme Court struck the appellant's brief and reviewed only for plain error, its affirmance should not be read as approval of every sanction. Nor is it a prediction of what another court would order. Your outcome will depend on your order, your evidence, and your judge.
Parenting Plan Violations
Nebraska law provides a specific enforcement procedure in one situation: the same proceeding ordered a parent to pay child support and gave that parent parenting time, visitation, or other access. In that situation, Neb. Rev. Stat. § 42-364.15 allows a motion accompanied by an affidavit stating that either parent "has unreasonably withheld or interfered with the exercise of the court order."
After notice and a hearing, the court "shall enter such orders as are reasonably necessary to enforce rights of either parent including the modification of previous court orders relating to parenting time, visitation, or other access." The court may also:
use its contempt powers
require a parent to file a bond or give other security to ensure compliance
tax costs, including reasonable attorney's fees, against a party found in contempt under that section
The statute authorizes reasonably necessary enforcement orders. It does not promise any particular result.
In Shannon, the mother testified about a series of violations:
not following the agreed transportation arrangements
keeping her from communicating with the children during his time
not properly giving the children their medications
traveling out of state with the children without prior notice
keeping them past his allotted parenting time
She supported her testimony with "hundreds of pages of receipts, medical records, and screenshots of communications," and the district court found her credible. 322 Neb. at 453, 458. The father said he kept the children longer because he misunderstood the dates. The district court rejected that explanation. It found that "the language of the plan is plain and straightforward" and that he appeared to be "gameplaying." Id. at 454.
Two practical points:
Clear language helps. In Shannon, the district court relied on the plan's plain language to reject the misunderstanding explanation. If your plan is vague about exchange times, notice, or holidays, enforcement may be harder, and clarifying the plan may be worth discussing with a lawyer.
Records help prove specific events. Notes made at the time can help show what happened and when. The exact wording of the order, whether evidence is admissible, credibility, and the remedy you request all still matter.
Enforcement is not the same as modification
An enforcement motion under § 42-364.15 and a case to modify custody or a parenting plan are different routes. A request to change an existing parenting plan can require a complaint to modify. It may also involve mediation or specialized alternative dispute resolution, subject to statutory waiver provisions. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 42-364(6).
The right procedure depends on the change you want. An enforcement motion is not interchangeable with a modification case. In custody determinations, Nebraska law focuses on the children's best interests. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 42-364.
Keep following your own order
When the other parent isn't following the order, it can be tempting to respond in kind by holding back parenting time or stopping support. Doing that can create problems of your own, including contempt exposure and, for support, arrears.
The safer course is generally to keep following the existing order, document what's happening, and get advice about asking the court to act. If you face an immediate safety concern, get situation-specific legal advice promptly rather than relying on general guidance.
Other Paths Besides Contempt
Other collection options. Depending on the type of obligation and how your order is written, there may be ways to collect unpaid amounts other than contempt. A lawyer can review which options apply to your order.
A negotiated resolution. Sometimes a clear written proposal can resolve the problem with less time and cost than a contested hearing. It might go through your lawyer, happen in mediation, or end in a stipulated order. That approach may not fit when there are safety concerns or when you need urgent court relief.
What to Expect if You Seek Enforcement
Before you act: Do not disregard an existing order based on this article. If safety is an immediate concern, seek situation-specific advice promptly.
Procedures vary by the type of obligation, the county, and the judge. The overview below is general, not a fixed sequence:
Filing. Enforcement is sought in the court that entered the order. The filing should identify the specific provisions at issue, the dates, and the amounts or parenting time involved. What must go with it depends on the procedure used and on local court rules and practice. For example, § 42-364.15 requires a motion accompanied by an affidavit. The Nebraska Judicial Branch's self-help website has enforcement information and forms for people without a lawyer.
Notice. The other party must receive proper notice. The requirements depend on the procedure and the court.
Hearing. Both sides can present testimony and exhibits. The responding party may raise defenses, such as inability to comply, an unclear order, or actual compliance.
Ruling. The court decides whether contempt has been proven and, if so, what sanction is appropriate. In civil contempt, that includes a way to purge. The court may also tax costs and fees against a party found in contempt.
Afterward. If a purge condition isn't met, what happens next depends on the order and the court.
How long this takes depends on the court's docket and how complex the issues are.
What to Gather Before You Talk to a Lawyer
Your decree, parenting plan, and any later orders, including temporary or modification orders
A list of each problem: the date, what the order required, and what actually happened
Payment records showing what was owed, when, and what was paid, including your support payment history
The children's medical, dental, and counseling bills, plus proof that you sent them and asked for reimbursement
Texts, emails, and co-parenting app messages, kept as full threads rather than selected screenshots
A log of incidents written close to when they happened
Third-party records where relevant, such as school attendance or pharmacy records
Anything you lawfully have that bears on the other party's ability to pay
Use only information you lawfully have. Don't access the other person's accounts, devices, or private records.
Questions to Ask a Nebraska Family Law Attorney
Is my order clear enough to enforce as written, or does it need clarification first?
Which fits my goals best: enforcement, modification, a negotiated fix, or a combination?
What evidence am I missing, and how should I organize what I have?
What is this likely to cost, and is there a realistic chance of recovering attorney fees?
What defenses should I expect, and could anything in my own conduct hurt my case?
Representing Yourself? Be Careful With AI
Shannon also matters for people handling their own cases. The father represented himself on appeal. The Court found his brief contained numerous citations to fictitious cases and misstatements of law, which it described as "the result of his admitted use of generative artificial intelligence (AI)." 322 Neb. at 455.
Earlier in 2026, the Court decided Prososki v. Regan, 321 Neb. 38, 32 N.W.3d 593 (2026). That case involved an attorney's appellate brief that cited inaccurate legal authority and fictitious case law. The Court struck the brief, dismissed the appeal, and referred the attorney to the Counsel for Discipline. Shannon, 322 Neb. at 455.
In Shannon, the Court applied the same principle to self-represented parties. It relied on its precedent that self-represented litigants are held to the same standard as practicing attorneys. Id. (citing Friedman v. Friedman, 290 Neb. 973, 863 N.W.2d 153 (2015)). It stated:
"[R]egardless of whether a party is represented or self-represented, submission of a brief that contains misstatements of law or relies upon nonexistent legal authority is an abuse of the judicial process worthy of sanctions." Id. at 456.
The Court had not addressed this situation for self-represented parties before, so it stopped short of dismissing the appeal. Instead, it struck the brief and reviewed only for plain error. It cautioned that "in future cases, dismissal of the appeal in lieu of plain error review may follow." Id. at 456–57.
The case also involved the father's request to appeal without paying appeal costs, called "in forma pauperis" status. The district court denied the request. It found he had enough funds, had failed to declare certain assets in his affidavit, and had testified inconsistently with that affidavit and his earlier testimony. The Supreme Court found no plain error. Id. at 458–59. Financial statements you give the court, including fee-waiver affidavits, need to be complete and accurate.
The bottom line: you are responsible for everything you file. Check every case, statute, and quotation against the actual source. If you can't verify it, don't file it.
Where Co-Parenting Coaching Fits
Some post-decree friction, like exchange-time disputes or conversations that escalate every time, may ease without a court filing. At Zachary W. Anderson Law, we offer our clients in-house co-parenting and divorce coaching at no additional fee. Coaching can help with communication strategies and day-to-day scheduling friction.
Coaching has limits:
It is not a court remedy.
It doesn't change what your decree or parenting plan requires.
It isn't a substitute for legal advice.
When there are safety concerns or a need for urgent court relief, a different response may be needed.
When to Talk to a Nebraska Family Law Attorney
If the other party isn't following your decree or parenting plan, it's worth getting advice before the problem grows. That's especially true if payments are piling up, deadlines in the decree have passed, or the children are affected. A lawyer can help you weigh enforcement, modification, negotiation, or a combination, and help you organize your evidence.
Based in Lincoln, Zachary W. Anderson Law represents clients in Nebraska divorce, paternity, custody, and post-decree enforcement and modification matters. Contact our office to schedule a consultation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between civil and criminal contempt in a Nebraska family case?
Civil contempt is meant to make someone follow an order made for the other party's benefit. The person can end the sanction by meeting a purge condition. Criminal contempt is punitive, with a fixed, unconditional sentence for past conduct. Which one applies depends on how the proceeding and the sanction are structured.
Can I keep the children from the other parent because they aren't paying child support?
Withholding court-ordered parenting time because support is unpaid can expose you to contempt and hurt your credibility with the court. In general, the safer course is to follow the parenting plan and ask the court to address the unpaid support. If you have an immediate safety concern, get situation-specific legal advice promptly.
Can I stop paying child support if my ex is denying my parenting time?
Stopping support can leave you with arrears and contempt exposure of your own. Under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 42-358(3), a prima facie showing that court-ordered support is delinquent establishes a rebuttable presumption of contempt. That isn't an automatic finding, but it is a real risk. If your parenting time is being denied, talk with a lawyer about asking the court to enforce the parenting plan.
What if my ex says they can't afford the equalization payment?
Inability to pay can bear on whether a violation was willful. A present inability to comply is also a defense to incarceration under a civil contempt order. On the incarceration question, the person claiming inability has to prove it, including showing efforts to use available resources or borrow the money. Past spending may affect credibility, but the court still has to consider whether the person can meet any purge condition now.
Can I recover attorney fees if I have to file for contempt?
Possibly. Under Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 42-370 and 42-364.15(2), costs, including reasonable attorney's fees, may be taxed against a party found in contempt. Those provisions depend on a contempt finding, and whether to award fees is up to the court.
What is a purge condition?
A purge condition is a step the court sets that lets a person found in civil contempt avoid or end the sanction, such as paying a set amount. For the contempt to be civil rather than criminal, the person must be able to comply when the order is imposed. If jail is imposed as a civil sanction, the chance to purge must stay available while the person is confined.
Will one late pickup get my ex held in contempt?
One late pickup does not automatically establish contempt, and it doesn't rule it out either. The court would consider the order's terms, what happened, and whether the violation was willful. The person seeking contempt must prove it by clear and convincing evidence.
Should I file for contempt or ask to modify the parenting plan?
It depends on what you want the court to do. Contempt addresses whether someone willfully violated the current order. A modification case asks the court to change the order going forward. It has its own procedure, including a complaint to modify, and it may involve mediation or alternative dispute resolution. A Nebraska family law attorney can help you decide which route, or combination, fits your situation.
Can I use AI to help write my court filings if I'm representing myself?
You are responsible for everything you file, whether or not AI helped. In Shannon, the Nebraska Supreme Court struck a self-represented party's brief whose fictitious citations resulted from his admitted use of generative AI. It warned that future appeals may be dismissed. Check every case, statute, and quotation against the actual source before you file.
Disclaimer
This article is for general educational purposes only and is not legal advice. Nebraska law, court rules, and local practices change, and this post may not reflect developments after its publication date. Every case depends on its own facts, the evidence, the judge, and local practice, and no particular outcome is guaranteed. Do not disregard an existing court order based on this article. Reading this article or contacting Zachary W. Anderson Law does not create an attorney-client relationship. If you need advice about your situation, please talk with a licensed Nebraska attorney.