Two years after a divorce that reached the U.K. Supreme Court, an oil trader might face incarceration if his ex-wife's charges of missed payments can stick. According to his ex-wife, he has missed 428,000 pounds ($690,000) in alimony and child support. If so, then he could be found in contempt of court. Keep reading to learn more about this story, and what this serious charge could mean in any divorce case.

In the Supreme Court's ruling, the ex-wife won rights to her former husband's offshore companies, contributing to the 17.5 million pounds she would receive in the divorce decree. According to her current claims, he never met the full payments required of him to reach that mark. He is said to have a net worth of about 38 million pounds. If he is incarcerated, this would reflect a growing trend of enforcing support payments, even through confinement if necessary.

Of course, this is true in the United States as well. If a deadbeat parent or an ex is withholding child support or alimony payments, then there are number of ways that courts can enforce their own orders. And it is important to note that you cannot take this matter into your own hand, such as interfering with the other parent's visitation rights, for example. That is illegal. You do not want to be in contempt of court either. Here then are your legal options.

You can go before a court, or you can go to a local office such as an Office of Child Support Services. When your claim has been addressed, a court can do any number of things. One option is to install a wage garnishment, meaning that the person who owes payments will automatically have deductions taken out of their paycheck and given to you. There could also be federal income tax intercepts, which would divert their tax refund to you.

Then if necessary, to enforce this payment, a court could exact criminal penalties. This could mean that the guilty party's driver's license is suspended or revoked; even a professional license could be subject to the same penalties. Their passport might be barred from renewal, forcing them to stay in the country. Finally, a delinquent parent who does not pay child support or an ex who does not pay alimony could be held in contempt of court for disobeying the court's orders. This criminal charge could lead to incarceration.

If the person holding back payments lives in a different state, then federal prosecutors may be able to act. This would be in serious cases, which unfortunately, can happen all too often. Federal officials may step in if the other parent/ex lives out of state and has either withheld payments for more than one year, held back more than $5,000, or skipped town (or even left the U.S.) to keep from paying. Even a first time offense of evading support payments could mean 6 months in prison. More serious charges, such as a repeat offense, could mean 2 years in prison and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.

It would be hoped that cases rarely reach this extreme, and in fact, swift action on your part may keep the problem from worsening. If support payments are not enough for what you or your child needs, or if payments are too high for your ex to meet, then you want to modify support payments as soon as possible. Only a court has the authority to do this, so if payments are not made in full, someone could inadvertently be amassing thousands of dollars in arrears. If you need to enforce or modify support orders, then it is in your best interests to contact a family law attorney as soon as possible!