Step 1. Fill out the court forms

First, you must fill out the following forms:

Appearance (form #JD-CL-12) and help text

This form provides the court with your mailing address. You will need to fill it out if you don’t have an attorney so the court knows where to mail you court notices.

Motion for Contempt/Contempt Citation (form #JD-FM-173) and help text

This form tells the court which order you think the other party is violating. Fill out the top of the form. If you don’t know the docket number or other court information, the clerk can tell you. Do not fill out anything below the line that says “Order to Attend Hearing and Notice.” The clerk will fill out the rest of the form.

There is a section on page 1 of the form that reads: Certification (Complete if motion is filed before judgment (pendente lite)). This section allows you to notify the other party about this motion by mailing the motion via US mail. This can only be done if the case has not been finalized by the court (gone to “final judgment”). You can ask the Court Clerk if you are unsure whether there has been a final judgment or not. There is more information about notifying the other party (“Service”) in the next step.