If a parent fails to follow the court’s child custody order, the other party may file a motion for contempt to bring the issue before the court.

A motion for contempt—as the name implies—is based on the uncooperative party’s contempt for the judge/court’s order. Ignoring the court’s order will have serious potential consequences, including loss of custody and payment of the other parent’s attorney fees and costs in filing the motion for contempt (coercive civil contempt).

And in some cases of repeated failures to comply with the custody order, the court may punish the uncooperative parent with jail time (criminal contempt).

In California, if a parent does not comply with a court-issued child custody order, the other parent has the right to file a motion for contempt with the court. This legal action is taken when a parent disobeys the court's authority by not following the custody arrangement. The consequences of such noncompliance can be severe. The court may order the noncompliant parent to pay the attorney fees and costs incurred by the other parent for filing the motion. This is known as coercive civil contempt, which aims to enforce compliance with the court's order. Additionally, in cases where there is repeated noncompliance, the court has the authority to impose criminal penalties, including jail time, to punish the disobedient parent. This is referred to as criminal contempt. The court's primary focus is the best interest of the child, and these measures are in place to ensure that custody orders are taken seriously and followed.