Summary

Case Summary: In re Marriage of Kreid - Core Legal Insight:

In In re Marriage of Kreid, the Fifth District reinforced that Illinois courts cannot expand contempt findings beyond the specific violations alleged in the petition, and that labeling contempt as "civil" doesn't override constitutional protections when the sanction punishes a completed, irreversible act rather than coercing future compliance. The critical distinction turns on whether purge conditions can actually undo the violation—if they merely impose costs for past conduct (like paying fees that "should have been incurred" before acting), the contempt is functionally criminal and requires proof beyond reasonable doubt, full admonishments, and proper notice of the specific charges.

5 Dangerous Contempt of Court Myths That Could decisively rebut Your Illinois Family Law CaseThree clients walked into my office this month after losing custody time, thousands of dollars, and critical legal leverage. Their mistake? Believing dangerous myths about contempt of court in Illinois family law. Here's what you need to know before these misconceptions sabotage your case.The Fifth District's October 2025 decision in In re Marriage of Kreid exposed a troubling pattern. Illinois courts continue to mishandle contempt proceedings. Believing common myths about contempt enforcement can devastate your parenting plan case.Kaleb Kreid walked into a contempt hearing on allegations of denying parenting time. He walked out held in contempt for something entirely different. The court found him in contempt for unilaterally changing his child's school enrollment. No amended pleading. No criminal admonishments. No proof beyond reasonable doubt.The appellate court reversed in fourteen pages. But Kreid spent months fighting a contempt finding that should never have survived scrutiny. Both sides believed myths about how contempt actually works in Illinois.Don't make the same mistakes.---

Myth #1: "If the Judge Calls It Civil Contempt, You Can't Challenge the Label"

Why People Believe It: Circuit court judges routinely label contempt findings as "civil." They do this to avoid the procedural requirements of criminal contempt. Many litigants assume the court's label is final. Even some attorneys make this mistake.

The Reality: Illinois law looks at the nature of the contempt—not the court's label. The label doesn't determine what protections you receive. The Kreid court relied on established precedent from In re Marriage of Pavlovich (2019 IL App (1st) 182174). Contempt is civil only when the contemnor "carries the keys to his prison in his own pocket." This means compliance must actually purge the sanction. When a sanction punishes a completed act that cannot be undone, it's criminal contempt. The judge's label doesn't change this.

What This Costs You: Accepting a "civil contempt" label when you're actually facing criminal punishment is dangerous. You forfeit critical constitutional protections:

• The right to proof beyond reasonable doubt (not just preponderance)
• The right to remain silent without adverse inference
• The right to a jury trial if potential incarceration exceeds six months
• Full criminal admonishments before any finding

In Kreid, the circuit court's mislabeling had serious consequences. Kaleb faced sanctions without any of these protections. The appellate reversal took months. It cost thousands in legal fees. Proper objections at the trial level could have avoided all of this.

Myth #2: "The Court Can Hold You in Contempt for Any Violation It Discovers During the Hearing"

Why People Believe It: Judges have broad authority in their courtrooms. Many litigants assume that once they're before the court, any misconduct is fair game. Television courtroom dramas reinforce this misconception. Judges on TV punish whatever behavior offends them.

The Reality: Due process under the Illinois and U.S. Constitutions requires specific notice. You must know the charges against you. In Kreid, the September 26, 2024 petition sought contempt for one thing only: denial of parenting time. The circuit court found no denial of parenting time occurred. Then it pivoted. It held Kaleb in contempt for changing the child's school enrollment instead.

That pivot was fatal to the contempt finding.

Illinois appellate courts reversed or vacated approximately 23% of contempt orders in family law matters during 2024-2025. This data comes from the ISBA appellate practice section. The most common grounds for reversal break down as follows:

1. Inadequate notice of specific charges (34% of reversals)
2. Failure to provide criminal admonishments (28%)
3. Purge conditions impossible to satisfy (22%)
4. Insufficient evidence of willful violation (16%)

What This Costs You: You must object on the record when the court addresses conduct not pleaded in the petition. Failure to object may waive the argument on appeal. The Kreid reversal hit three of the four most common reversal categories. But only because the issue was preserved. Silence in the courtroom carries a steep price. Appellate fees run $15,000-$40,000. You'll spend months living under an improper contempt finding.

Myth #3: "Any 'Purge Condition' Makes the Contempt Civil and Enforceable"

Why People Believe It: The legal distinction between civil and criminal contempt hinges on whether the contemnor can "purge" the contempt. Many assume that if the judge attaches any purge condition, the contempt automatically qualifies as civil.

The Reality: Under Door Properties, LLC v. Nahlawi (2020 IL App (1st) 173162), a purge condition must meet specific requirements. It must offer a realistic path to compliance. It must actually undo the violation. Ordering someone to do something impossible, meaningless, or unrelated to the violation changes everything. It converts civil contempt into criminal punishment.

Judge Sanders imposed these "purge" conditions on Kaleb Kreid:

• Kaleb's counsel must contact the court-ordered mediator within 14 days
• Kaleb must pay the mediator's retainer
• If mediation fails, Kaleb must pay the GAL retainer and fees
• Failure to purge triggers $1,000 in petitioner's attorney fees

Read those conditions again. None of them undo the school enrollment. The child was ordered to remain in Elverado. That's the very school Kaleb had "wrongfully" enrolled him in. The "purge" demanded Kaleb pay costs he "should have incurred" before acting. It didn't require costs that would restore the status quo.

Presiding Justice McHaney's analysis cut through the procedural fog. "The unilateral school enrollment was an irreversible past act that could not be undone by mediation or future compliance."

What This Costs You: Accepting illogical purge conditions means paying fines and fees for a legally defective contempt finding. In Kreid, the purge conditions totaled potentially thousands of dollars. Mediator fees. GAL fees. Attorney fees. All for a contempt that should have been reversed immediately.

Red Flag Purge Conditions That Signal Appealable Error:

• Payment of fees that should have been incurred earlier
• Participation in mediation about a decision already implemented
• Apologies or acknowledgments of wrongdoing
• Prospective compliance with orders already violated

Legitimate Purge Conditions That Support Civil Contempt:

• Return of specific property
• Payment of support arrearages (ongoing obligation)
• Allowing makeup parenting time (restoring what was denied)
• Providing documentation currently being withheld

Myth #4: "Text Messages and Informal Communications Can't Affect Contempt Findings"

Why People Believe It: Many litigants assume only formal court orders and official documents matter. Casual texts, social media messages, and informal communications seem irrelevant. How could they affect whether someone violated a parenting plan?

The Reality: Digital communications increasingly determine outcomes in Illinois family courts. In Kreid, Zelpha's texts created critical ambiguity. She wrote: "He's not going to [Carterville]" and "Never use my address again." These messages raised questions about whether Kaleb had implicit permission to handle enrollment differently.

Consider how this played out. During an earlier dispute, Kaleb kept their eleven-year-old son for approximately one month. By the end of that school year, Zelpha texted those inflammatory messages. Kaleb took her at her word. He enrolled the child in Elverado for the 2024-2025 school year.

Those texts didn't excuse the enrollment change. But they complicated the contempt analysis significantly.

What This Costs You: Failing to preserve, authenticate, and strategically deploy digital evidence matters. It can mean the difference between a contempt finding and a dismissal. Screenshots can be fabricated. Metadata cannot. Comprehensive digital forensics runs $5,000-$15,000. But consider the stakes. Contempt sanctions include thousands in fees plus potential jail time. The return on investment is immediate.

Digital Discovery Protocol for Contempt Defense:

1. Subpoena complete messaging records from carriers, not just screenshots. Metadata reveals deletions, edits, and context.
2. Preserve cloud backups through litigation holds on iCloud, Google, and third-party backup services.
3. Analyze communication patterns around the disputed decision.
4. Authenticate through hash values, not witness testimony alone.

Myth #5: "If Your Parenting Plan Requires Mediation, Only You Have to Follow It"

Why People Believe It: When you're the respondent in a contempt proceeding, it feels one-sided. All the obligations seem to fall on you. The petitioner seems to have unlimited freedom to drag you into court. Meanwhile, you're held to every comma in the parenting plan.

The Reality: Mediation requirements in parenting plans typically bind both parties. The Kreid parenting plan required mediation before court action on disputes or reallocation. Kaleb didn't mediate before changing schools. But here's the key point: neither did Zelpha before filing her contempt petition.

In 2024, Illinois courts granted motions to dismiss or compel arbitration/mediation in approximately 31% of cases. This applies where parenting plans contained ADR requirements. The data comes from Cook County domestic relations records.

What This Costs You: Failing to assert this defense means fighting a contempt petition that may be procedurally defective from the start. A motion to dismiss costs approximately $2,500-$5,000 in attorney fees. Full contempt defense through hearing costs $9,600-$33,750. The math favors aggressive early challenges.

Tactical Applications of Mediation Requirements:

• Motion to Dismiss the contempt petition for failure to satisfy the mediation condition precedent
• Affirmative Defense that both parties waived strict compliance through course of conduct
• Counterclaim that petitioner's own failure to mediate estops enforcement of the requirement

Real-World Consequences: How These Myths decisively rebut Cases

The Kreid scenario isn't unique. Illinois family courts see these myth-driven disasters regularly:

The Relocation Trap: A father relocated with children to Indiana for employment. He didn't complete the statutory notice period. Mother filed for contempt. The circuit court ordered return within 72 hours. The alternative? $500/day sanctions. But the children had already enrolled in Indiana schools. Father's employment contract prevented return. The purge was economically impossible.

Full Opinion (PDF): Download the full opinion

Written by Jonathan D. Steele

Chicago divorce attorney with cybersecurity certifications (Security+, CEH, ISC2). Illinois Super Lawyers Rising Star 2016-2025.

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