If the spouse wishes, a hearing is held. If the spouse is found to owe the payments, the Court will issue the earnings withholding order. The other method is a motion for contempt. Here, the Court will ask the spouse to show cause why they should not be found to be in contempt. Usually, the earnings withholding approach is the better choice.
Problems naturally arise where a house is bought, using money that was earned prior to the marriage.
A determination must be made of the percentage of the home that is marital property. Spouses contemplating a divorce can agree to divide their property in almost any manner they wish, thus saving themselves attorney fees and risking a determination by the court that they may not agree with. This is a means of finding the facts of a case through oral questioning. There will usually be a person there who will record the questions and answers. The parties may order a transcript of the deposition from the reporter for a fee, which will be dependent on the length of the deposition.