A state court’s use of its contempt power to enforce a pre-bankruptcy obligation may violate the automatic stay.  This is because of the general rule that enforcement or collection of a pre-bankruptcy debt is a violation of the stay.  Some courts have held that use of contempt power to enforce what would be a non-dischargeable support obligation is not violative of the stay; however, the bankruptcy courts would not uniformly follow that view.  As a result, the best course is to require one of the interested parties to file a motion with the bankruptcy court seeking appropriate relief in order to allow a contempt hearing, or enforcement, to continue.  The determination of whether a contempt action is a violation of the stay will, of course, depend on whether that action is criminal or civil contempt. 

See Also:  Chapter 7 Bankruptcy