If a parent fails to make child support payments, the other parent 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 child support order. Ignoring the court’s order will have serious potential consequences, including loss of custody or visitation rights, 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 child support order, the court may punish the uncooperative parent with jail time (criminal contempt).

In Mississippi, if a parent fails to make court-ordered child support payments, the custodial parent can file a motion for contempt to address the noncompliance. This motion is a legal action taken to highlight the non-paying parent's disregard for the court's order. The consequences of being found in contempt can be severe. The court may enforce various penalties, such as modifying custody or visitation rights, ordering the non-compliant parent to pay the legal fees and costs incurred by the other parent in bringing the motion, and in some cases, imposing jail time. The latter is typically reserved for cases of repeated failure to pay child support and is considered criminal contempt. The goal of these penalties is not only to punish the non-compliant parent but also to compel compliance with the child support order.