I confess that I have had frustrations over the years with the Vermont courts’ reluctance to enforce court orders in family court. In New Hampshire, where I practice family law occasionally, the attitude of the courts is quite different: just an allegation of violation of a court order will often result in an ex parte court order against the alleged wrongdoer–then a quick hearing to determine what other remedies, if any, should be imposed. That type of action by the court is unheard of in Vermont. Even when violation of court orders is proven, the wrongdoer is rarely punished–and even more rarely does the victim of wrongdoing receive an award of attorneys fees for his or her efforts to enforce an order. In my experience, attorneys fees are awarded less than 5% of the time they are requested, often making it uneconomical for a litigant to spend attorneys fees to request enforcement of an order. According to the results of our survey, the public agrees that court orders should be vigorously enforced. Here is the link to the survey: http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e4dcl8vigq80yd2t/start