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 North Carolina, 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 legal action is taken when a parent disobeys the court's child support order, showing contempt for the court's authority. The consequences of such noncompliance can be severe. The court may enforce the order by altering custody or visitation rights, requiring the noncompliant parent to pay the filing parent's attorney fees and costs, or imposing other financial penalties. In cases of repeated failure to pay child support, the court has the authority to impose criminal sanctions, which can include jail time. This is to ensure that child support orders are taken seriously and to provide a means of enforcement to ensure that children receive the financial support they are entitled to.